When Jokers Meet Heroes
by BrokenToy13
Summary: Fury has noticed that the Avengers are...lagging. So he took it upon himself to recruit new members that will surely get them back on track. But the question is, who are these strange people? And why do they look so familiar to Steve? R&R if you want for me to continue this.*shrugs*
1. Chapter 1

_**Buenos días, mis amigos!**_** First of all, to all of you people who read my other story ****_Hide-and-Go-Seek_**** I am really sorry for not updating! But worry not, for I already have about half of it typed up! Anyway, this story is part request part my own imagination. The request was:****_ Use the last video of Hetalia you've watched and the last movie you've watched and make a crossover! _****So the last video that I had watched(and was still watching) was the MMD of Poker face starring the Bad Touch Trio and England(and I REALLY recommend you go watch it so this makes sense) and the last movie was Avengers. So...yeah!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or Avengers *sniff***

* * *

"TONY!"

_**CRASH! **_

"God damnit!"Hissed Stark.

The inventor had been working on a rather delicate piece of his suit at the time, and he so concentrated in it that when Pepper's scream echoed throughout the mansion, it had startled him so much that he accidentally jumped and knocked over the piece of armour. He picked up the dropped object from the floor and inspected its rather deep and large dent.

Stark sighed, reached for his glass of scotch,and knocked it down in one go. "JARVIS,"he called.

A smooth British accent replied,"Yes sir?"

"Shut everything down here. Something tells me I won't be back here tonight."

"Of course, sir."

Stark walked, or more like dragged himself, towards the glass door of his lab. He punched in the code and exited the room just as the lights shut down from behind him. Trudging up the stairs, the brunette scratched the area around his Arc Reactor and yawned.

Once he was up on the main floor of the mansion, Tony headed in the direction of the living room, where he could hear Thor's thunderous laughter. He grinned and chuckled under his breath when he heard Thor proclaim that pop tarts were the food of the gods and then proceeded to complain as to why Asgard didn't have them.

"Don't worry big guy" said Tony as he crossed the doorway and plopped on the couch next to an amused looking Clint "you can take as many boxes as you want back to fairyland when you return."

Thor looked as excited as a puppy did when presented with a new toy,"Do you speak the truth, Man of Iron?"

"Yep."

Before the god of thunder could say or do anything to express his gratitude, an annoyed looking Pepper came into the room followed by an exasperated looking Steve, Bruce, and Natasha. Soon all the Avengers were either sitting or standing in the living room.

"Hey there Pepper. Why'd you call?" Asked Tony.

The redhead sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose while replying,"Director Fury called and said he wanted all of you here. He also said something about recruiting others or something."

"Recruiting?!" Yelped Clint, who sat up straight from his slouched position and was suddenly alert. Surprised and shocked looks currently occupied all the faces of the Avengers.

"That's right, Agent Barton."

Every head whirled around at the direction of the doorway that Tony had emerged from and saw Fury walking in with an air of smugness.

"Sir, Director Fury is here," came JARVIS' voice after a short silence.

Tony slowly tilted his head back and glared at the ceiling,"No shit, JARVIS."

Fury continued,"I've noticed you idiots are getting rather...slow so I took upon myself to recruit others to help you out." When he finished, his brown eye held a rather victorious look in it as well as his smirk. Sputtering from Tony only increased the feeling.

"We don't need others to help us out! We're holding up fine against all this sons of bitches that attack the city!"

With his smirk widening, Fury replied,"To late. They're already on their way over here."

Suddenly, JARVIS' hurried voice filled the living room,"Sir, there are four unknown people in the building. Repeat. There are four unknown people in the building."

Tony was already halfway across the room by the time JARVIS had finished. The other Avengers and Pepper were quick to follow.

They found Tony standing at the entrance of the small lounge at the end of the hall with his eyes wide open and mouth slack.

Following his gaze, they all saw four young men dressed in weird outfits that made them resemble medieval jesters. They sat in a circle around the small coffee table in between two love seats, playing what seemed to be poker.

One of them, who was wearing a black hat with a red bottom and red ball at its end, set down his cards and said with a Spanish accent,"One pair."

The man next to him had a hat that resembled his, but this one was completely black. The one with the black hat set his cards down as well and countered with a German accent,"Two pair."

Both boys stared ahead at the duo in front of them. The blond man with the half black and half red hat smiled and showed his. His accent sounded French as he spoke,"Full house."

Now all three turned to the other blond with the half black and half white hat. He was smirking rather victoriuosly and smugly, just like Fury had, and slowly set his down on the table and spread them out in a line while proclaiming in a British accent,"Straight flush."

Sudden clapping made the four young men turn their heads to the doorway as well as the Avengers. Fury stood there with his gloved hands clasped together in a pleased way.

The four strangers grinned and swiftly stood up. Forming a line, they bowed at their 'audience'.

"Avengers," announced the director,"Meet the Jokers."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Danke danke danke danke DANKE!**_** All of you people are lovely! Thank you all who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I'm soooo excited for this story that I was already working on the second chapter after posting the first one. Now quick note. According to my crazy head after watching that MMD, each of our four jokers represents one symbol from the deck of cards. England represents diamonds, Prussia represents spades, Spain is the clubs, and of course France represents the hearts. So, don't get confused if they start calling each other that, ok? Remember that the nation secret can't be revealed(or can it?) so they'll call each other code names. And also, they won't act like their usual selves all the time since of course they ****_are_**** jokers which means they will play pranks on others or simply annoy them. Loooong AN, I know. Anyway, ONWARD!**

**Review replies:**

**11pink45:Shhhh,It's a secret that will be revealed later!**

**Zantetsuken Reverse:The hats are suppose to represent the card designs.(confusing, I know)**

******Cryanth:Worry not! He will come into the fray eventually! :D**  


******happy reader:You shall find out in this chapter.(maybe) :)**

******REadER:Thank you for giving your opinion! **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own either of this two awesome things.**

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"Wh-What?" Stuttered Tony, eyeing the still bowing quad in front of the group.

"Exactly what you heard, Stark. Now you four, stand up," ordered Fury. But the group didn't budge.

"But we _are_ standing, director," replied the Briton in a humorous voice. His fellow jesters nodded their still bowed heads, causing the balls at the ends of their hats to bob up and down.

If the situation wasn't shocking and serious (in some way), Clint would've been laughing his ass off at both the way they were dressed and at the man's reply.

The director, however, didn't look amused.

"Alright, you smart asses stand up straight," growled out Fury.

The quad immediately straightened. They stared ahead at the Avengers with wide eyes and mischievous smiles.

Tony inspected all of their faces while Fury and the jesters conversed. The one with the Spanish accent had brown hair and green eyes. The German accent belong to the albino next to him. Tony actually had to _stop_ and _think_ if the French accented one was in fact a male or a female since those blond locks and blue eyes looked far to feminine. But a quick glance to the chest revealed that the French was in fact a boy. And finally, his gaze wandered over to the British. He also had blond hair (but not as long as the Frenchman) and his eyes were a bottle-green color. But what caught the inventor's attention the most were the _huge and thick _eyebrows that rested just below the jester hat's brim.

"Dude," drawled out Stark,"are those caterpillars on your face?" Everyone that was next to Tony turned to look at him with wide eyes.

The room also silenced immediately.

"Excuse me?" Replied the Briton, pointing at himself with a black glove. Beside him, the other three smothered their laughs by covering their mouths with their hands.

"Yeah. Did they crawl up there and die or something?"

The grin was wiped off the blond man's face and was replaced with a dangerous frown. Both Natasha and Clint tensed, expecting for an attack, but both were surprised when the only counter the Briton made was the remark,"At least I don't have a night light in my chest."

Every one who knew Tony Stark thought the same thing.

_Uh-Oh..._

Brown eyes narrowed and glared into green ones, who glared backas heatedly as his_. 'Now it's on, limey bastard.'  
_

"Well, at least I don't look like an idiot dressed up like that."

"You don't look like one but you surely do act as one."

Clint couldn't resist the need anymore, so he let out a low _"Ohhhhh..."_

Tony turned and glared daggers at the archer, his eyes clearly screaming _'Who's side are you on?!' _The Briton's grin returned full force, making him look like he was some sort of creepy clown doll.

"Well, that's enough," stated Fury, irritation clearly dripping off his words. He spun on his heel and turned to Tony, who was still sulking.

"Stark."

The brunette looked up.

"Listen to me closely. These four are to stay in this mansion,hmm. So _no_ _exceptions_. Understand?"

A reluctant nod and curse was his reply.

~~~~~A few minutes past midnight~~~~~

Once everything had been arranged, the quad of jokers had been given their rooms after some arguing between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Tony could careless were those idiots (he had already dubbed them that earlier that day) slept, but Steve, kind-hearted Steve, argued that they needed an actual room in order to rest properly.

So in the end, our jokers had gotten the rooms that were the farthest away from everyone else's.

"Ahh, what a tiresome day!" Complained the brunette joker known as 'Club' by his peers."Wouldn't you agree, Spade?"

The albino, 'Spade', nodded and replied from his spot on the floor,"_Ja_."

The Spaniard and Prussian stayed silent before Club pulled out a pen from his sleeve and a piece of paper from the nightstand. He quickly scrawled something down before passing it to Spade.

Red eyes read the note.

_'They're hearing us aren't they?'_

The Prussian wrote back '_Yes'_

_'Do England and France know?'_

_'France was the one that told me, Spain.'_

_'I don't like the people here, Prussia. They're booooring!'_

_'Neither do I, Mein Freund. Neither do I.'_

A knock from the direction of the door startled the pair into ripping the paper into pieces and burning it to ashes with the snap of Spain's fingers. Moments later, France and England, or 'Heart' and 'Diamond' as they would be called in front of the Avengers, walked in.

"No need to worry anymore. We've deactivated every computerized system in this wing," informed England with a sly smirk. Both nations looked pleased with themselves.

"Even Stark's AI?" Questioned the bubbly Spain.

France nodded,"Even the AI."

"Kesesese~. Remind me to never piss you off," laughed Prussia while flicking his wrist. A deck of cards suddenly appeared in his previously empty hand.

Soon enough, all four nations sat in a circle like they had done earlier and played a game of poker.

France at some point had made four cups of wine that refilled themselves constantly appear out of thin air. England, ever the perfect gentleman even after all that had happened to the quad, had refused his, but after a few minutes into the game, he had finally taken a sip, then another and another until the glass was empty. Of course it soon refilled itself.

At around two in the morning, the jester nations decided to call it a day (more like night, though) and they finally parted ways to their separate rooms.

And just as they were drifting off, they each had one thought in mind.

'_Tomorrow will_ _definitely be a living hell for those Avengers. We'll make sure of it.'_

* * *

**_ Quick Note: I know you may be wondering why I gave 'powers' to the nations. But just so you know, back then in the medieval era, jesters were sometimes accused of having powers or using witchcraft. I don't know where I read that but it just kept nagging at me so I decided to give it a try...And kudos to you if you understood the 'limey bastard' reference :D_**


	3. Chapter 3: The Spy

**Hello readers! Looks like I'm on a roll or something! Two chapters in one day/night two days ago! You guys are awesome for inspiring me to continue this! Well then, I present to you chapter 3!**

* * *

The following day presented itself to the world as a stormy and cold one. The wind howled and blew everything within its path several feet away from their original spot, sometimes toppling stuff over before dragging them along for a ride.

Underneath the cliff in which the Avengers Mansion rested upon, the ocean water crashed against the small, private beach shore and drew away the majority of its sand.

However, inside the mansion, it was warm, cozy and the windows were thankfully sound-proof. All the Avengers were still in bed, with the exception of Natasha of course since she always seemed to wake up earlier than everyone else.

The Russian redhead snaked her way into the kitchen after quietly walking through the dark, empty corridors. She flicked on the light switch and almost yelped in surprise when her green eyes met with bright red ones that were no less than three inches away from her face. The owner of the red eyes chuckled quietly and drew back.

"Well, well, well, you are up early,"commented the albino.

Natasha heard the almost inaudible pit-pat of booted feet coming up from behind her. She instinctively whirled around in a round house kick. A gloved hand caught her ankle before it could come in contact with the person's head. She glared at the grinning blue-eyed blond and tore her foot free from the man's hand.

_"Bonjour, madame," _purred the Frenchman.

"What are you all doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Natasha questioned the two jesters that now stood side by side.

Both jesters grinned and replied in unison,"Likewise, ma'am. Shouldn't you be sleeping right now? After all, you'll need the energy soon enough."

Before the redhead could ask what they meant by that, a sudden _bang _came from the direction of the living room. Natasha immediately turned tail and ran out of the kitchen, leaving behind two grinning jesters standing there. Mistake number one.

Skidding to a halt once she reached the doorway, Natasha's eyes roamed over every object within the room. The light that was slowly coming in from the ceiling to floor windows made out easier for her to see, too. After inspecting every corner of the place, she titled her head in bewilderment. Taking a tentative step forward, she crossed the room until she was standing at the center of it. Everything was quite and calm, and no objects had fallen out of place. So the question was, what caused that 'bang'?

Suddenly, the windows exploded. Natasha threw herself at the ground as glass fragments rained down on her and the furniture.

An inhuman guttural roar echoed throughout the room. The Russian redhead heard heavy thuds approaching fast towards her. Without thinking, she kicked the coffee table's legs and it toppled over, providing a crude shield. Natasha quickly scrambled up and screamed,"JARVIS, sound the alarm!"

No reply.

"JARVIS?!"

After a receiving no response yet again, Natasha winced at the loud roar that came once more and instantly dashed out of the living room with the 'thing' hot on her heels.

She ran down the halls, looking for a panel that could trigger the alarm. She finally found one when she rounded the corner that lead to the hall where all the rooms of the other Avengers were located.

When Natasha was about to make a sprint for the panel, something latched onto her foot and pulled it from underneath her. She landed on the floor with a sickening thud. The Russian involuntarily panicked and reached for her gun, only to find it missing. She turned her head to look what was behind her and almost screeched.

The creature had not only one head but _two_ with no face other than a mouth that was gaped wide, exposing long black tongues that lashed around and razor sharp teeth. Its 'skin' appeared to be made of a whole bunch of worn out potato sacks stitched together. The creature roared again, spitting bits of black plasma that landed on Natasha's black cat suit and face.

The creature quieted down when loud chuckling echoed through out the hall. Natasha's head whipped forward and saw the British jester standing a few feet away from her. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed her gun clenched in his gloved hand.

Noticing her glare, 'Diamond' raised the gun and waved it. "Do you want this?" He teased.

Angry green eyes narrowed further into a glare that promised a slow painful death. The sudden bone crushing hold on her foot caused her to forget her anger and instinctively cry out.

The black and white jester's smile grew and with the snap of his fingers, the loud alarm blared to life.

In the blink of an eye, Diamond disappeared along with the creature. At that same moment, every closed door bursted open and out stepped the still half asleep Avengers.

They all looked around, but they saw no danger. Not until Clint saw Natasha still lying on the ground did they lower their weapons...and shut the alarm up.

Every pair of eyes stared at her until Tony whistled,"Don't you think you're a little too old to play soldier?"

Natasha didn't reply. Her eyes had this shocked and enraged look on them that made everyone slightly uncomfortable. Without a word, Natasha limped up and leaned against the wall before asking,"You didn't hear that? Any of that?"

Thor tilted his head like a confused puppy,"Heard what, friend Natasha?"

"The...the 'thing'!"

"...what thing?"

Screaming in frustration, Natasha limped away towards the living room. The other Avengers were quick to follow, throwing confused looks at each other.

All the males of the team reached the room and stood next to the stunned Russian. It all looked in order. "B-But this place was destroyed a moment ago!" She cried.

"You sure you're not on drugs or something?" Asked Tony.

Natasha turned and looked at the inventor ,"Of course not! Ask JARVIS or look at the security tape! This place was destroyed five minutes ago!"

"That true, JARVIS?"

The AI's smooth voice replied,"No sir. Not a single piece of furniture has been moved all night or morning."

While the six Avengers argued, four figures dressed in black and white grinned a smile reserved for the mentally insane from their spot down the hall. They slowly lurked through the shadows before emerging.

"What seems to be the problem?" Asked Club with an air of innocent curiosity.

Natasha's head whipped around (it seemed to do that a lot lately) and stared at the jesters.

Glaring at them, she hissed,"What did you do?"

One by one, like the domino effect, their grinning faces turned into hurt expressions.

"Us?" They said in unison "What would we ever do?!"

"Don't play innocent!"

"We didn't do a thing. Ask the AI. We were just walking around the mansion."

Just before anyone could say a word Tony growled,"Alright everyone shut the hell up. It's too damn early to be arguing about random shit that **_DIDN'T_ **happen. So if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed."

And with that, the billionaire walked out, followed closely by a half-asleep Bruce.

"I agree with Stark," murmured Steve"we can talk about this later." The walking American icon turned and half-dragged a drowsy Thor.

The only remaining people left in the room were the four jesters and the Russian agent. She growled under her breath and stalked over to the unmoving quad.

"They may believe you, but I don't. I know what I saw and I warn you, mess with me again and I will not hesitate to murder you all." Natasha then stormed out of the living room.

Soon enough, the quad was left alone. They all grinned once more like madmen and snapped their fingers simultainiously.

And as if a universal button had just been pushed, everything slowed down until it froze. The wind outside stilled, the crashing waters underneath froze over in mid-wave, and the swaying trees in the backyard that were bent at awkward positions froze as well.

Not able to hold it in any longer, all the nations bursted out in laughter. Their laughs echoed throughout the still mansion, bouncing off walls and overlapping each other before the sound became distorted.

After laughing like maniacs, they all squealed out like little kids in Christmas morning,"_One down, five more to go!"_


	4. Chapter 4: The American Icon

**Good day people! Today I'm not going to school since my 'father' decided to do some stupidity that backfired on him with punctured tires. So I'll perhaps update one or two chapters today. And remember, you can always choose who will get morbidly pranked like Natasha did and how 'person' here will get! Well, ONWARD!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really****_ have_**** to say it? ****_*lawyers nods*_**** FINE! I DO****_ NOT_**** OWN HETALIA OR AVENGERS! **

* * *

Later that same day, our dear American icon was sitting in the couch in front of the huge plasma tv in the lounge room. He had a disturbed look on his face as he observed how Clint and Tony, who were sitting in front of said tv, mowed down zombie after zombie in a ruined bus station of some game. And even though their characters would scream out phrases every once in a while, it seemed the two took it as a challenge as to who could be the loudest in real life screaming.

Steve shuddered. Ever since he was little, he had always found the idea of zombies terrifying. And when he had heard rumours in the war that the Germans were currently trying to find a way to raise the dead, that fear had increased ten fold.

"HEADSHOT BITCH!" Screamed Clint as his character's gun blew the head off a blue-eyed zombie.

"RELOAD BIRD BRAIN!" Countered Tony, pressing the blue button in his XBox controller. In a split second, Tony's character removed the half-empty mag, shoved in another, and pulled back the hammer.

Clint reloaded his...toy gun that shot green balls out just as the screen flashed white and a demonic voice growled out 'MAX AMMO!'

A lone guitar riff echoed throughout the map just as the 10 tally marks that were on the left bottom corner of the screen started blinking white and disappeared. When the riff ended, the number 11 appeared in white on the corner before turning red as the first roars of the undead came.

Steve silently grimaced, stood up from the couch, and sneaked out of there. He sighed in relief as he set foot in the hall but almost squeaked when the Prussian jester appeared out of nowhere.

"Good day captain!" Chirped Spade with an ear to ear grin.

Steve awkwardly replied back with a 'hello'. He still hadn't gotten used to the jesters' presence here. And the fact that Natasha didn't trust them and had blamed them for the apparent destruction of the living room was rather unnerving. But come on, this is Natasha were talking about. She wouldn't even trust a damn fly!

Anyway, Steve quickly went around the unmoving jester and walked down the halls to the other side of the mansion. He hadn't been able to train in days due to aliens invading New York City, but now he had enough free time to at least spend a few hours in the gym.

Once he reached said room, he immediately jogged around the gym's perimeter in order to warm up. After ten laps, Steve wrapped his hands in bandages while going over to the corner where all the punching bags were hanging like dead bodies on the gallows. He immediately rained punch after punch on the black sack that was closest.

By the tenth bag, the American icon had decided to take a brief break. He opened the cooler that was lying beside the bench in which he now sat and took out a water bottle. He drank one-fourth of the cold liquid and poured the rest over his head.

**_BANG! _**

Rogers jumped up like he had just been shocked and whipped around in the direction of the gym's doors. They had just been open moments ago, but now they were sealed shut! He dashed through the gym and skidded to a halt in front of them. While he was busy trying to peel open the double doors, he didn't notice a black figure standing behind him.

Red eyes that were filled with twisted glee stared at the back of the captain's head. The albino, Spade, waved his hand and an all too familiar guitar riff echoed throughout the vacant gym. The blond in front swiveled around in his direction, but the latter didn't see a thing other than empty air.

Spade watched in amusement as Steve ran _through_ him and towards the center of the gym.

With another wave and a muted chuckle, all the windows in the room and even the wall cracked before bursting open. And like water rushing out of a broken dam, undead Nazi soldiers rushed through the gaping holes. Some sprinted crookedly, others jogged with the stereotypical zombie position a.k.a. head lolling back with their arms outstretched, and the rest were missing a leg or two which made them crawl on the ground. And they were all headed in one direction. _His._

Steve panicked and instinctively punched a zombie that had gotten too close. Its head cracked off its shoulders and fell to the ground. The now headless body swayed a bit before collapsing as well. The other grey-skinned creatures kicked or stumbled over the once again dead carcass, but not even that stopped them.

The horde roared and moaned and shrieked as Spade silently snapped his fingers, making them wilder and insanely faster.

Steve punched here and there but zombies kept coming and coming. But when he punched one, it flew back and landed with a crunching thud. It thankfully stayed still,but a weird green light shot out off its chest. It hovered over the dead zombie like mist before it took the shape of a metallic missile.

Steve instantly taken back a few hours.

_~~~~~Flashback~~~~~_

_"Get in the bus Clint!" Screeched Tony. He was already in there but where the hell was bird brain?!_

_Steve's eyes roamed over to Clint's screen. He was too busy mowing down zombie after zombie with an M14 to even pay attention. He accurately shot off one zombie's head. In its wake, it left a green-gold missile._

_Tony's mood instantly shifted. "GRAB THAT NUKE!"_

_Clint shot a few more mags before making his character sprint like crazy for the nuke. __He ran through object and the screen flashed white, followed by a dull 'boom'. The demonic announcer screeched as well,"KA-BOOM!"_

_And one by one, all the zombie's heads exploded as they fell to the ground._

_~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~_

Steve immediately rounded the horde, which roared in anger, and sprinted as fast as he could to the nuke. When he was just two feet away,however, a sudden gust of air threw him back.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! It von't be so easy!"

The panicked blond gasped at the distorted voice. It sounded familiar, yet where had he heard it?

"W-Who?"

"I vant to play a... a game!" Squealed the demonic announcer. But the voice sounded like that of a little girl...

It clicked. It was the little girl of the game!

"You have to guess _mein_ name!"

Rogers panic increased ten fold. He nervously glanced at the incoming horde. The yellow eyes of the zombies shone like flashlights in the dim light of the gym, making them look like demons instead of animated corpses.

Taking a deep breath, Steve screamed the first name that came to mind," Samantha?"

**_KA-BOOM!_**

One by one, the head of every zombie blew up.

From the shadows, Spade grinned crookedly and squealed in Samantha's voice,"Congratulations! You've von!" before he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

The American stayed standing, to shocked to even notice that the doors slowly creaked open.

Snapping out of shock, Steve instantly dashed out of the gym. He was standing outside of the cursed place trying to catch his breath when he heard a screech down the hall. And like the good samaritan he was, the blond ran down the hall towards the small rarely used game room.

Skidding to a stop, he saw a familiar black hat and white hair. "S-Spade?"

Pausing his game, which coincidently was about killing zombies, the jester turned to look at Rogers. "Yes, captain?" He asked curiously.

"Did you hear all the stuff from the gym?"

Spade tilted his head and a bewildered look crossed his features. "No captain. I went in there and I just saw you punching bags. I even called you but it seems you didn't hear me."

Steve leaned back and sighed shakily, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Why captain? What happened?" Questioned the jester, setting down his controller and standing up.

Rogers was immediately reminded of the zombies. He quickly backed off and muttered 'nevermind' before leaving.

Prussia waited until Steve was far away from the game room to once again snap his fingers. From the shadows, England, Spain, and France emerged.

The quad broke out into peals of giggles.

"Who knew his greatest fear were zombies?!" Squeaked Spain through giggles.

"I sure didn't!" Answered England.

France managed to somehow control his laugh and announced loudly_,"Two down, four to go!"_

His fellow jesters cried in agreement.

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_**P.S. : The game was Black Ops, in case you didn't know. And I know that now its Richtofen controlling the zombies, but I thought 'Samantha controls the original Nazi Zombies, so it would only make sense to place her here instead of the Doctor.' So...yeah...thats how that happened. OH, and remember, you can always guess or even chose who will get pranked next!**_


	5. Chapter 5: The Demigod

**_Guten tag! _First of**** all, I'd like to thank all of you reviewers, followers, favoriters, and new readers! You're simply amazing! Now on the last chapter, Steve confronted his greatest fear by the hand of Prussia. ****_Zombies... _****Now in this chapter, who'll be the unlucky person to get pranked next? *Hint*- _Person _is EXTREMELY gullible.  
**

Heavy thuds echoed throughout the long, empty corridor. A tall shadow with broad shoulders and long hair drifted by in the the wall, following its owner like an obidient dog.

Thor was merrily whistling a tune his friend Clint had teached him as he strode down the hall. A few moments ago, he had seen Steve walk nervously by with a troubled look etched into his face. Like a good friend and comrade, the demigod had asked what was wrong but the only reply he got was something along the lines of 'zombies' and 'demonic little girls' and incoherent babble.

The god of thunder had just shrugged and continued on in his merry way. He rounded a corner and broke out into a trot when he saw his chamber's door just up ahead.

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like his brother's voice cry out as clear as day,"Help me Thor!"

The demigod stopped at once and immediately whirled around, looking left and right for the source. Shock, relief, fear and anger coursed through his veins like water on a river: thick and fast.

He heard the scream again and followed them out of the hall. And unbeknownst to him, his running shadow morphed into that of a certain jester with wavy hair tied back in a ribbon.

The shadow smiled and stopped, leaving the demigod running without it by his side. Stepping out of the wall, France grinned humorously and screamed out in the god of mischief's voice,"Thor! Help!"

He merged into the wall once more and he darted faster than a bullet through it. He caught up with the god of thunder in less than two seconds and he changed back to Thor's original shadow.

From behind a semi-closed door that was just down the hall, England screeched in the same voice France had, "THOR!"

He closed the door silently just as the blond barreled by like a rhino chasing an intrusive human.

The other two jesters, Prussia and Spain, were waiting for Thor to round the corner. When he did, Spain grinned crookedly and snapped his fingers. An exact replica of the god of mischief appeared, but instead of looking proud and arrogant, this one looked terrified and pitiful. With another snap, 'Loki' took off with Thor hot on his heels.

The two nations giggled when Thor roared for Loki to wait. They disappeared into thin air when both gods were out of sight.

Thor followed 'Loki' deeper into the rarely used part of the mansion, not knowing of the dangers that laid ahead.

The blond god wasn't thinking straight either. He kept wondering why was Loki running _away_ from him if he had cried for his help. And most importantly, from _what_ was Loki running from.

Suddenly, 'Loki' made a sharp right turn and darted into a dark room, leaving the door wide open. Thor was quick to follow.

However, when he entered, he couldn't see a thing. He was about to call out for Loki when the door slammed shut with a loud _bang._

The god of thunder whipped around before hissing when the lights bursted on. Blinking rapidly and trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness, Thor looked around and noticed he was in an old, empty ball room.

Two golden chandeliers with diamonds hung from opposite ends of the ceiling, illuminating everything in a yellowish white hue. Four giant windows were located in the farthest wall of the room, each having its own dusty red curtains drapped over it. The floor had a checkered pattern that resembled parts of the outfits the jesters wore, too.

_Jesters..._

Something clicked in Thor's head. He was about to call out for Stark's AI, JARVIS, when the chandeliers' chain that was behind him suddenly snapped and the whole thing dropped. It crashed on the ground and the glass shards scattered around. Half of the room plunged into total darkness.

Thor wearily stared at the dark. He gripped Mjolnir and raised it in a defensive stance, ready for any type of attack. He didn't notice, though, that his shadow had left him long ago.

Out of no where, a knife flew through the air and impaled itself in the hammer. Mjolnir cracked viciously with lightning and sparks, but other than that, it didn't move. Thor, on the other hand, was shocked as to _how _a flimsy little knife had managed to impale itself in his weapon. Wicked giggling made him look up.

'Loki' slowly walked out of the dark side of the room, an arrogant smile plastered on his face. This time, he looked as how he had when the Chitauri army had destroyed half of Manhattan.

Standing atop the other chandelier, Heart giggled mutely and he sneered in Loki's voice just as the replica opened its mouth,"Long time no see, _brother_."

"LOKI! Why in the name of father did you flee from me?"

The replica raised a brow and Heart replied,"I did no such thing. I have been in this room the whole time."

"Do NOT jest with me, Loki!"

"I do not jest, _brother_."

Roaring in blind rage, Thor dashed towards 'Loki' with his hammer raised and poised for an attack.

But with the wave of Heart's hand, the replica bursted into a column of flames.

The demigod's eyes widened and he felt something inside him shatter. When he tried to help his unmoving and burning brother, black tendrils stretched from the ceiling and wrapped around his arms. Mjolnir slipped from his limp hand and fell to the floor, cracking the checkered tiles. The tendrils hauled the struggling and screaming Thor off the ground and suspended him in mid-air.

Heart watched with sadistic blue eyes as the replica let loose a blood-curdling scream and sink to its knees. The raging fire licked at the false body, sizzling the skin and burning it to ashes. In the span of two minutes that were filled with pained screeches from 'Loki' and the hysterical pleading yells of Thor, the replica was nothing more than a pile of ashes on the black and white tiles.

Heart's eyes wandered over to the now silent and limp god of thunder, watching how his shoulders shook in dry sobs. He smirked in a rather dark manner and snapped his fingers. The black tendrils that held Thor released the demigod and retracted up towards the shadows.

Thor slumped on the ground, too weak to move or even notice Heart hop down and land silently with soft thuds.

The jester padded over and looked at the unmoving blond one more time. He tsked.

'I think I went a bit too far.' He mused. He decided he would show a little mercy to the other blond and kneeled down next to him.

Heart placed two fingers on the god of thunder's neck and the latter instantly blacked out.

Standing up and snapping the ashes out of existence, the jester giggled silently before it turned into a roaring laugh. Three other figures poofed into the ball room. They, too, were laughing.

Prussia walked over to France ,wrapped an arm around him, and patted his shoulder in congratulations. "Mein freund, that was **GOLD**!" Complimented the albino.

Spain eagerly nodded his agreement."Did you see his face? It was all like _'NOOOOO!'"_ He giggled like a little kid.

England grinned and asked,"How did you know that his brother was his major weakness?"

"A true jester never reveals his secrets," replied the Frenchman with a wink.

However, the sadistically happy mood was broken when they all heard rapid footsteps approaching the ball room. They all dispersed into the shadows just as the door was slammed open.

Standing in the doorway, Clint and Tony gaped in horror at the scene in front of them. The duo tentatively stepped into the room, observing the broken glass and cracked floor before their eyes landed on the sight that was Thor on the floor. Tony immediately called JARVIS.

"Yes sir?"

"Call Bruce and Steve ASAP!"

"Certainly sir."

Clint rushed forward and checked for a pulse on the demigod's neck. "He's alive, just knocked out." Tony was about to reply when Clint suddenly went rigid and drew his gun. The archer cocked the weapon and aimed it at the shadows of the room. "Who's there?" He called.

No answer...

"Hey bird brain, calm down. There's nothing there," said Tony. "Now help me out here with Goldilocks."

Clint did lower his gun, but not before glaring one last time at the shadows.

When both humans were turned and trying to pick up Thor, the nation jesters took advantage and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

~~~~~Club's Room~~~~~

A cloud of black mist appeared on the ground, separating into four different sections. Each section swirled from the floor up before it took a humanoid shape. When the shapes were distinctive enough, the mist evaporated. The four nations sighed in unison as they plopped on the carpet.

"Phew, that was close," muttered Prussia as he fell back on the carpet and stretched.

England nodded,"But we did get the job done, which was the important part."

They all giggled somewhat darkly at the new memory. Spain stopped his giggles for a few moments to utter,"Three down, three to go."

The other jesters just giggled louder.

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**P.S.: I am _soooo_ sorry for not updating! :( And I hope I wasn't too sadistic in this chapter. I made the mistake of watching Angels & Demons while typing this and when the part of the third cardinal, 'Fire', came out, I just _had_ to write it down. So sorry if that grossed you out but you have to remember, their sadistic. And this _person_ was supposed to be someone else but a friend wanted Thor so here it is. Again, I'm soooo sorry for not updating! *wails***


	6. Chapter 6: Christmas Special

**CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! Pretty much a little side story from the actual story. Merry Christmas to you and best wishes my readers!**

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From his spot on the doorway of the living room, Diamond stared at the Avengers with a blank face.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

In the dead center of the room, a huge and fluffy pine tree stood tall and proud. It was so tall, in fact, that its peak almost touched the ceiling. And gathered around it were the six Avengers with ornaments or little figures hanging from their hands.

"What does it look like, caterpillar-brows? We're decorating the tree," replied Tony sarcastically from his spot on Thor's shoulders. He was currently hanging the golden and red ornamental balls on the tree's highest branches. And since he was rather short, he had to ask Thor to help him reach all the way up there.

"Tony be nice. It's Christmas Eve," reprimanded Pepper from her spot on the couch. Instead of helping the others, she was checking Stark Industry's stock. Nodding her head in approval, the redhead gently lowered her tablet to rest on the couch cushion next to her before turning over to look at the jester. "They're decorating the tree for tonight," her answer more cheerful and polite than Stark's had been.

"Don't people start decorating the tree at the _beginning _of the month?" Questioned the still bewildered Diamond.

"It's a tradition we have here in Stark Industry."

Before Diamond could respond, Clint snapped,"Don't you have _jester _stuff to do?" Beside him, Natasha nodded with steely eyes despite the cheerful mood and air.

'Still sore about yesterday it seems.' mused Diamond. The Briton tsked and glared at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He was half-tempted to snap his fingers and turn both into little insignificant sewer rats, but he had made a promise (as well as the other three) to not us his powers in front of them, no matter how annoying they were. The jester spun on his heel with one last glare and stalked away to the shadows.

"...You couldn't have been any more rude?" Murmured Steve as he wrapped the golden 'skirt' around the tree's base.

A childish 'nope' from the archer was the only reply he got.

~~~~~On The Hall~~~~~

England paced the length of the corridor slowly, running the tips of his fingers against the cream colored wall. Something nagged at the back of his head, and it was driving him insane...well, more than he already was but you get the point.

The Englishman sighed and banged his head on the wall in exasperation. He knew he had seen something like that scene in the living room before but he just couldn't remember! He stayed in that position for a while, sometimes moving his head back a bit before letting it collide with the wall again. It wasn't until he felt another familiar presence next to him did he remove his poor aching head from the wall.

"I didn't know you liked to bang your head for fun," chirped Spain innocently. He was holding his axe behind him in both hands, and it seemed to be covered in a suspiciously red metallic liquid. Said liquid was also smeared on his cheeks and cloth.

Raising a thick eyebrow at the sight in front of him, England shook his head and muttered under his breath,"I'm not even going to ask."

The Spaniard tilted his head in confusion before he realized what the other jester was talking about.

"Oh don't worry! I was chopping _tomates!"_

"Suuure you were. And since when do tomatoes smell like blood?"

"...always?"

Blank emerald eyes stared at sheepish lime-green. The owner of the former eyes face palmed. "Just...follow me," said England with weariness lacing his voice. In the snap of fingers, he was gone.

"_Eh? Esperame!"_

Another snap, and the hall was vacant.

~~~~~Outside the Living Room~~~~~

Both jesters appeared out of thin air next to the doorway of the cheerfully decorated living room. Diamond turned to Club and hissed, "Follow my lead."

Not waiting for a reply from the now blood free Club, the Englishman walked in the room nonchalantly. His and Club's black boots made little pitter-patter noises as they stepped on the smooth marble floor, calling the attention of the chatting Avengers and Pepper.

Two sets of green eyes stared briefly at the now fully decorated tree before they turned in unison at the group.

"Ms. Potts," called out Diamond.

Pepper noticed the weary look on the black and white jester's face and she immediately stood at attention. "Yes?"

"You have a rather important call ma'am," finished Club.

"From?" Barged in Tony suddenly. Dual green orbs slid to the corners of their sockets and glared at defiant brown.

"We do not know Mister Stark. It may be true that we are curious about stuff, but when it's information about others, we respect it unlike you." Countered both jesters in perfect synch.

Clint couldn't help it (again) and he let out a long, _"Ohhhhhh."_

Tony didn't notice it this time, however, since he was too occupied glaring daggers at two of the Jokers, too which they responded equally. You could practically see the lightning cracking in the air between them.

"Hey hey hey, why don't we all calm down, huh?" Asked the peacemaker known as Bruce. He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and shook it a bit. The inventor complied reluctantly and leaned back on the couch, grumbling curses under his breath.

Soon enough, the chatter started back up as Thor cried out "What is this sorcery?!" at the IPad in his hands as it started to make noises that belonged to the app he had accidentally clicked.

Pepper quickly stood up and walked to the two unmoving jesters.

"Where's the phone?"

Without looking up at her, they replied, "Kitchen." Then they turned on their heel and walked out like wind up toy soldiers; back straight and their gait swift.

~~~~~In the Abandoned Ball Room~~~~~

France trotted back and forth, causing the three balls that were on his hat to bounce slightly. Coming to a sudden stop, the Frenchman stomped his foot like an unhappy child. He then proceeded to grab fistfuls of his blond hair and yank his head back like a mad man before letting loose a scream better reserved for a prisoner awaiting trial.

From atop the lone chandelier, Prussia winced as the blond jester's scream echoed through out the giant room. "France! Calm down, will you!? England and Spain said they'd be here any moment now!"

France spun around and with crazed eyes, he glared up at the albino, "THEY SAID THAT AN HOUR AGO!" He roared in a shrill voice.

And in that precise moment, the other two Jokers appeared.

"Sorry for being late," laughed the Spaniard nervously, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Beside him, England nodded curtly as well.

However, France twitched violently. He slowly, _really slowly, _turned. With an ominous face, the blond hissed like a demon, "Sorry? For what?"

All of their jesters gulped. Prussia hopped of the golden chandelier and cautiously approached the Frenchman. "France, calm down," he said in a tone that resembled that of a trainer soothing a tiger.

"Don't touch me," growled the blond.

Prussia froze._ 'Oh fuck...'_

"I give you three seconds to get as far as you can from here before I go out, find you, and then kill you in the slowest and most painful way possible."

In the next .385 seconds, the room was vacated sans the pissed and twitching France. He took a deep breath and started counting.

3...

2...

1...

With an animalistic roar, France ran out of the ball room with so much speed that if he crashed into you, you surely wouldn't get out of it without a few broken bones.

~~~~~Living Room~~~~~

"Why do you hate them so much Tony?" Asked Bruce all of the sudden.

Tony jumped. He had completely forgotten about his 'Science Bro' being there with him.

"Hate who, Banner?"

"The jesters."

Stark immediately scowled at the mention of those 'idiots'.

But before he could reply, terrified screams pierced the air. Every Avenger immediately stood at attention. They all stared at the door, waiting for something to happen.

And happen it did. Three jesters ran in, quickly followed by the fourth one.

"Heart! Stop, _¡por favor!" _Cried Club.

With a shrill screech that made everyone wince, Heart tackled Spade, who unfortunately was the closest to him. Both jesters tussled on the ground like wild animals until Thor had enough common sense to separate them.

"Why are you two brothers in arms fighting? Especially in this wonderful eve!" Bellowed the demigod.

Heart and Spade winced at the volume of Thor's voice. Both were hanging a few inches off the ground since the god of thunder was taller than them, and he was currently grabbing them rather painfully from the scruff of their outfits.

When Heart was about to snap back, a clock on the coffee table chimed thrice. Both the hour and the minute hand were poised at 12:00, which meant midnight. And since it was Christmas Eve a minute ago, now it was...

"MERRY CHRISTMAS SUCKERS!" Cried Clint in joy. The other Avengers soon followed suit with the cry.

Rather unceremoniously, Thor dropped the two jesters he was holding and they fell in a heap onto the floor.

Amidst it all, nobody noticed the two jesters scrambling up and bolting out. Both Jokers ran until they ended up outside in the courtyard. Diamond and Club were already waiting up for them there by the weeping fountain.

"I think I get it know," muttered England as France and Prussia approached. His head was tilted back, staring at the full moon with half lidded eyes.

"Get what?" Asked France.

"This morning, I was reminded of something. I couldn't place my finger on it until now," answered the Briton.

"And what was that?"

"Remember that night in the facility? When _**He**_ gave us a free night on this day?"

The other three shuddered as they thought of the facility. But as fast as the memories had come, they were quickly pushed away. One by one, the three jesters eyes lit up as they recalled the treasured memory.

"Of course we do," they replied in unison, grins slowly forming on their faces. But this one wasn't their usual crazy or maniacal grin, but a small fond one.

Recalling the memory too, England chuckled and turned to face the others. Spreading his arms, he chirped, "Merry Christmas guys."

They all spread their arms and hugged each other in a small yet gleeful group hug.

_"Joyeux Noël."_

_"Frohe Weihnachten."_

_"Feliz Navidad."_

Overhead in the night sky, the stars twinkled bright. One twinkled brighter than the others, and even though it was now falling down to the land below, it still added a great deal of beauty to the inky night sky.

_~Even though you may feel alone in the world, remember that you will always have friends beside you that will support you through good and bad. Even if the bad is something horrible, they'll be with you in every step of the way..._

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**Hello dears! Once again, Merry Christmas! This one is really long, but I made it that way specifically for you all as my Christmas gift! By the way, sorry if its a bit confusing, I wrote it throughout the day in my free time and that was very little so yeah... （＾∇＾）**


	7. Chapter 7: The Call In

**Good Day, thou lovely being! Thank you again for everything! *sigh* It seems that holidays don't even stop my family from fighting like starving dogs after a piece of raw meat. But instead of being raging like them, I always smile when I see all of you guys favoriting and reviewing and following this! It makes me sooo damn happy! Anyway, a reply so that I don't keep you hanging!**

**Zantetsuken Reverse: They ARE nations, but do keep in mind the ****_facility_**** and **_He_ **for they WILL come into play later on. And as for AU, not really.**

**AnimeGirl 144: Don't worry, **_He_** while be revealed soon enough.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this awesomess once again.**

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After the whole incident with Thor, Fury was immediately called in.

"What the hell do you want now?" He growled out as he stepped out of the black S.H.E.I.L.D. helicopter that had landed not to long ago on the Avengers' Mansion helipad. The man walked swiftly across the marked roof top towards a fidgeting Clint and a twitching Tony. With his only eye, the director inspected the archer. 'Some sort of shit must've happened if he's fidgeting so damn much,' thought Fury.

Jerking up, Clint stammered, "Some crazy stuff is going on sir." At the raised eyebrow and incredulous look he was given, the agent continued, "We found Thor _knocked out _in a room at the other side of the mansion sir. Nobody goes there at all other than Steve when he goes to train."

That was all Fury needed to hear. Pushing the twitching duo aside, he stalked towards the door that led inside. As he yanked it open and went down the first set of stairs, he heard the other two scramble behind him. He slowly sidestepped towards the wall on the landing when the two Avengers toppled over one another and rolled down the stairs.

Fury stared at the archer and inventor as they detangled themselves from one another with a deadpan look in his only eye. Shaking his head, the director sighed and continued down the stairs with two twitching men behind him.

The trio finally reached the halls of the mansion. They twisted through them with ease despite their complexity, and soon enough they reached a wide meeting room. Inside, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce were all sitting on the chairs closest to the glass wall that was currently occupied with camera feeds of several different rooms and halls.

Upon seeing Natasha's troubled face, all of Fury's doubts left. 'Somethings definitely going down.'

"What's going on here?" He demanded.

Looking up, Steve choked out, "We don't know director. It's all happening randomly."

"Randomly?"

"Yes sir." Answered Natasha this time. She continued, "I know this will sound crazy, sir, but this morning I was attacked by a strange creature."

From his spot next to Bruce, Steve snapped his gaze towards her. "You too?" He asked nervously.

With surprise clearly showing on her face, the Russian nodded at the captain.

"What went after you Rogers?" Asked Fury, drilling his questioning one-eyed gaze at the icon.

With a slightly flushed face, the blond quickly replied, "Zombies."

Silence.

"...zombies? Really Rogers, really?" Dead panned Stark besides him. Both Clint and him had already taken a seat at the table, leaving only the director standing up.

Before Steve could retort, Fury snapped, "Enough."

Both immediately shut up.

Sighing again, Fury pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Do you have any footage of either attack?"

From the edge of the table, Bruce squeaked out, "We were barely going to check sir."

Stark nodded with a 'yup' and stood up from his chair. He managed to stop his fidgeting as he walked to the front of the room were the glass wall was and pressed a holographic square on it that read 'Camera Footage.'

"Hey Nat, at what time was your supposed attack?" He asked in a bored tone.

"At around six in the morning in the living room. And it **did **happen, Stark," she growled out toward the end.

Rolling his chocolate brown eyes, Tony looked at the ceiling and called out, "Heard that JARVIS?"

"Yes sir."

And in the blink of an eye, the footages of the rooms and halls on the screen turned to a clear and frozen image of the living room from the camera on the corner of said place.

The AI dimmed the lights of the room just as the footage unfroze and played itself.

Everyone waited and watched the tape. When Natasha finally came into view at the doorway of the room, Fury's eye traveled to the corner of the wall. Grabbing a piece of paper and pen, he jotted down the time. '_6:07'_

He looked up just in time as 'Natasha' threw herself on the ground in the middle of the room for no apparent reason and kicked the air. After staying down for a few seconds, she bolted up and ran out of the room.

The living room camera switched from one hall to another as the Russian ran down them. She came to a stop in one, which was the hall where the rooms of the Avengers were located. And just as Natasha started running, she _tripped_. Struggling and trying to break free from seemingly nothing, she glared at the air in front of her. The redhead then opened her mouth as if to talk, but when the footage showed her mouth moving, no sound came out, not even the slightest whisper.

And then that's when the piercing cry of the alarm sounded through the speakers on the ceiling. The footage froze once more when the half asleep Avengers stepped out of their rooms with weapons drawn.

Just as the lights became brighter, Fury sparred a glance at the Russian redhead sitting on the table. And he almost cracked a grin at the sight despite the situation.

Natasha's face was currently a bright red that almost matched her hair colour and her jaw was hanging open. An enraged and confused look battled for dominance in her eyes, as if they couldn't decide which was felt the most.

"Well that revealed nothing," muttered Tony. He tapped a small circle on the wall's surface and it reverted back to its original blank look. "Next," he drawled out like a judge evaluating boring people.

"But it did happen! I was in the kitchen when I heard a_ bang_ with-" the Russian sucked in a sharp breath. The males in the room stared at her as she narrowed her eyes and hissed out, _"them."_

"With who Agent Romanoff?"Questioned Fury.

"The jesters. The albino and the blue eyed blond," she answered. "They were there when I heard the noise and when I fell down on the hall, I saw the British one in front of me holding my gun!"

"Are you absolutely sure you weren't imagining stuff, agent? 'Cause I sure didn't see anyone else in the tape other than you."

Natasha shook her head with so much speed her neck almost cracked. She was about to say something else when JARVIS interrupted her.

"Mr. Rogers? At what time did your _accident_ happen?"

"Around eight in the gym, JARVIS," replied Steve.

The screen flashed for an instant before the footage of the gym appeared. But before it could play itself, Fury turned his one eyed gaz towards the captain and asked, "Where were you _before _you went to the gym?"

"In the living room with Tony and Clint, director."

"Did you see any of the Jokers before entering the gym?"

Steve thought for a bit. Had he seen anyone? Snapping his fingers, he looked at Fury and said, "Only one. And that was Spade, but I only saw him _after_ I left the living room."

"Spade?"

"The albino, sir. They call each other by the names of the symbols on a deck of cards."

Fury nodded thoughtfully and turned to look at the wall. "JARVIS, change the footage to the living room this morning."

The tape changed to the one Fury said. Once again, the lights dimmed and the recording started.

It showed Steve sitting on the couch behind a pair of slouched figures. After a while, the blond stood up and quietly left the room.

The camera quickly changed to the hallway outside the living room where Spade and Steve were having an awkward, one-sided conversation. After a few minutes, Steve quickly detached himself from the chat and slipped away. The camera fast forward until it showed the blond America stepping into the gym.

Fury quickly wrote down the time again next to Natasha's. _'8:14'_

After that, the footage just showed Steve running around the gym before he started punching bags. From the corner on the doorway, the jester Spade appeared again. He appeared to be calling out to Steve, but it seemed like the latter hadn't hear him. After a few more times, Spade shrugged and left, leaving the captain alone with his punching bags.

The footage froze when Rogers suddenly stopped punching the black leather bags before bolting out of the gym.

All eyes turned to Steve. And like Romanoff, he had a disbelieving look in his eyes and his face was as red as the stripes in the USA flag.

"Well" started Fury "that was useless." He discreetly pocketed the piece of paper he had scribbled the time on and set down the pen. He ignored the shocked looks the two 'attacked' Avengers gave him while he questioned, "Do you have Thor's footage in the ball room?"

To which the AI responded smoothly, "No, Director Fury. The rooms on that side of the mansion do not have cameras installed in them."

"Well then until you have enough evidence of this so called 'attacks', I expect to NOT be disturbed again. And stop acting like little kids and take the blame instead of pinning it on the recruits." While he said this, he looked pointedly at Natasha. And with that, he turned and exited the room. When he was down the hall, he could hear Stark clearly scream "What the FUCK?! He won't believe us!"

Fury didn't stop walking until he reached the staircase that led up towards the roof. There he climbed up to the landing before standing still on it. "I certainly didn't expect you four be so sadistic on them," he spoke out loud to the air around him.

From the shadows on both the walls and ceiling, the four jesters emerged. Staring at Fury from his upside down position on the ceiling, Heart said with a shrug, "You told us not to hold back." Beside him, Spade nodded with a small 'yup'.

"And attacking two hours with seven minutes apart from the last isn't suspicious at all," retorted the director sarcastically.

"Nope," chirped Club. He stepped forth and did a small twirl before coming to a halt and snapping his fingers. From his hand, sparks and small flames erupted. The fiery limbs jumped from his hand and separated into six different flames in the air. "We already got rid of three," he explained and with the flick of his wrist, three of the dancing flames were extinguished. "And we're only missing the other three," finished Diamond as he leaned against the wall. With his words, the fire grew bigger and wilder before extinguishing itself.

Fury chuckled. "Well, this will surely teach them a lesson. Not to mention it will sharpen their damn reflexes."

The four jesters giggled cruelly. But their laughs stopped abruptly when Spade whispered uncertainly, "Has **_He_ **made any sort of move?" The other three Jokers stayed silent with their eyes and faces suddenly nervous too.

Fury shook his head and the jesters sighed in relief. "Well then" he said "I have to leave this damn place but YOU four won't. Got it?"

Nod.

~~~~~In the Abandoned Ball Room~~~~~

France sighed as he lowered his cards. Running a hand down his face, he turned to his fellow nations, who were staring at him, and asked, "Was it really a smart move to run away?"

A scoff from Prussia and a nod from Spain was his reply. "Of course it was! If we hadn't, we'd be dead by now," spat England out. He always got annoyed when that subject was brought up. Probably because he had the worst time _there._

"Now stop thinking about it and concentrate," scolded the Briton playfully as they resumed their game.

~~~~~Thousands of Miles Away~~~~~

A wicked grin stretched upon an old face. Attentive grey eyes stared out the enormous window at the magnificent mountain side the building was located on, admiring the rare beauty that was usually covered by thick fog and rain from the storm clouds that rolled lazily over head. Suddenly, a knock echoed through out the room from the mahogany door.

"Enter," wheezed the old man.

The door opened, revealing a man servant pushing along a trolley. Atop the cart, several medicine bottles rattled on their place upon a metal tray. The trolley came to a stop besides the chair the old man sat upon.

"Master, it's time for you to take your medication," stated the servant in a monotonic voice. Gloved hands grabbed a small plate filled with pills of different sizes and colors along with a glass of water. The owner of said hands handed over the objects to the graying old man.

After popping each pill into his mouth and swallowing it, the master turned to his servant. "Have you tracked them down, Anderson?"

The servant, Anderson, shook his head and pulled out a razor thin device from his pocket. He placed the device on the other man's hand before retrieving the empty bowl and glass. Just as he had placed them on the trolley's platter, his master called, "What are these red dots, boy?"

Without looking up, Anderson replied, "Possible hidding spots, master." And with that, he left the room with the trolley.

Grey orbs stared at the blinking crimson dots on the screen of the device with a grin stretching across the wheezed face they were a part of. The old man started giggling like a little kid before bursting out into roaring laughter.

"YOU CAN RUN, JESTERS, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!"

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**SOOOO SORRY IF THIS IS CRAPPY! *wails and rolls on the floor* This was supposed to air DAYS ago! But once again, my cursed family won't stop fighting. All day and all night! I swear I'm _this _close to snapping out at them. *sighs* And the reason this wasn't posted before was because when I was about to upload it, my parents started screaming at each other and I took it as a sign to turn the computer off and get the hell out of the room. So I'm really sorry if its bad. Anyway, enough ranting! **

**Hopefully the length of this makes up for the tardiness. AND who is that guy at the end? I'll leave it up to _you _to figure it out! :)**


	8. Chapter 8: The Man of Iron

**Damn! I haven't updated since last year! Get it? No?...oh...okay... Anyway! Thank you for everything! Onward!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it!**

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"What are we gonna do then?" Asked a dejected looking Clint as he plopped down on the couch and propped his legs up on the coffee table. All the Avengers, except Thor who was still unconscious, were currently sitting or standing in the living room. Every single one of them still had a troubled look on their faces, only made worse by Fury's statement earlier.

"Well", said Tony as he stood up from a chair, "I don't know about you but I'm going back to my lab." Clint immediately turned and looked at the inventor as if though he were insane. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"You want to go _alone_ when some crazy shit is happening in here? I suggest we stay together until it's all over," stated Clint with his arms crossed and a firm look plastered on his face.

Rolling his eyes, Tony replied, "I'll be fine, mom. Nobody gets in my lab without me or JARVIS noticing. Besides, it's right downstairs."

The archer's face reddened when he was called 'mom' by Tony and he sputtered. Natasha sighed in annoyance and answered Tony with a small 'Fine' before she rubbing her temples. The Russian sat next to the other agent and groaned when the headache she had developed as a result from her rage earlier didn't go away.

Tony grinned and spun on his heel to the direction of the doorway. He walked out of the living room and down the hall to an elevator. Once he entered, he pressed the button labeled 'Basement' and punched in the code when a screen appeared on the shiny surface. The square turned green when the code was accepted and with a 'ding', the elevator's door slid shut. Jerking a bit, the metallic box lowered itself in a steady pace to the billionaire's lab.

With another 'ding', the door opened and revealed Stark's disordered lab. Sighing in relief, Tony stepped out of the elevator and made a bee-line for his main work-bench. The playboy practically threw himself at his chair once he reached the crowded desk.

Leaning back in his chair, Tony stretched his arms over his head and called out, "JARVIS!"

"Yes sir?" Replied the British AI.

"Tell me if anyone tries to enter the lab, alright?"

"Certainly, sir."

With that, the billionaire reached over to the edge of his work-bench and pressed 'play' on the stereo that laid on the corner. Soon enough, Black Sabbath music spewed out of the speakers with so much volume that the glass walls rattled. Bobbing his head at the rhythm of the song, Tony pulled the piece of armour he had been working on yesterday over and started working on it again.

The poor man never heard the sound of a double-headed axe sinking into a group of cables running along the wall to the ceiling over the wailing of the music. Neither did he hear the weak and panicked 'Sir!' coming from JARVIS before the AI was deactivated.

With a grin that would send shivers down anyone's back, Club yanked his axe out of the wall, which made the now broken wires hang , and rested the head on the floor. He slowly walked out of the shadows towards the billionaire, dragging his weapon behind him. The twin blades made a grating noise against the tiles as they were slid over them.

Once he stopped behind the inventor, Club lifted his axe up and held it with both hands in front of him. Then he swung his arms up and over his head, suspending the weapon in mid-air. The jester's grin grew in size and his green eyes widened in crazed glee.

Tony never noticed the presence behind him as he hummed the song on the stereo and continued fixing the piece of armour.

Club giggled sadistically and swung the axe down over the other's head. But just as the blade was about to bury itself on the man's head, the Joker evaporated into black mist.

A sudden chill went down Tony's back, making him turn around and look behind him. Seeing nothing but empty space, the inventor shrugged and cranked the volume higher on the stereo. Up in the ceiling above Stark, Club appeared standing upside down with his axe clenched tightly in his hands. Giggling again, the jester suddenly impaled the weapon into the ceiling before disappearing and leaving it there. The blade of the axe dug itself halfway through the concrete and spider-webbed the roof with a nasty crack. A few pieces of plaster fell from their place down to the clueless inventor's work-bench.

Noticing the pieces of plaster out of the corner of his eye, Tony turned his head to the edge of the desk where the pieces were and tilted his head in confusion. He reached over to the stereo and turned it off before returning to the plaster. Picking up a little chip, Stark scratched the back of his head and looked up. His eyes almost gauged out when he noticed the axe sticking out of the ceiling.

Tony was about call out to JARVIS when a sudden gust of wind threw him back and out of his chair. Black tendrils rushed out of the shadows and wrapped around his legs before jerking him up and off the ground. The brunette yelled in surprise when one of the tentacle-like objects came to close to his Arc Reactor.

"JARVIS?! Sound the alarm!" Yelled a panicked Tony as he tried to wriggle his way out of the tendrils.

No response.

"JARVIS?!"

This time, there was was response, but not the desired one. Giggling and some clapping made the inventor look in the direction of the glass wall leading to the stairwell outside. His brown eyes widened in confusion and fear when he didn't see anyone standing there, but the noises still came. He suddenly cried out in shock when he felt a sharp pain in his side. Tony struggled once more despite the pain, but his attempts were futile.

Out of no where, Club appeared in front of the inventor, mere inches away from the other's face. "Well hello there! How are you doing today, hmm?" Chirped the insane jester. He giggled like a little kid when Stark didn't answer but instead stared at him with wide and hateful eyes.

"You bastard! Let me down right now!" Roared the angry billionaire.

Club tsked and shook his head in an exasperated manner. He waved a finger in front of the other's face and said in a sing-song voice, "I wouldn't be making demands if I were you~" With a snap of his gloved fingers, one black tendril rushed forward and wrapped around Tony's mouth, effectively shutting him up and providing something similar to a gag.

Tony screamed in rage with a bit of unwanted fear seeping in, but his cries were muffled by the make-shift gag. Club laughed out loud like a mad man and rested a hand over the other brunette's chest. Looking up into the brown eyes of the inventor, the jester saw the emotion in them change from anger and hate to raw fear. Tilting his head in mock confusion, the Joker moved his hand slightly to the left and over the shining Arc Reactor.

Club grinned sadistically and in the blink of an eye, he tore the other's shirt open before ramming his fist into the Reactor, evoking a muffled pained filled scream from Tony. The sharp glass shards exploded outward and rained down on the jester's arm and floor, some even made it as far as his face. Those few shards cut into his skin and made little droplets of blood seep through the wounds, trailing down his face like tear marks before dripping of his chin onto the floor.

Removing his hand from the destroyed Arc Reactor, Club snapped his fingers again and from the ceiling, the double-headed axe tore itself out of the concrete and flew over to the jester's outstretched hand. The Joker spun the weapon like if it were a simple pole before he gripped it tight with both hands and swinging it over his head once more. He looked down at Tony's bowed face and saw the pain in his face along with the blood that was pouring out of his mouth.

The jester laughed insanely and swung the axe down with all his strength just as Tony looked up. The latter screamed as the axe came his way and he slammed his eyes shut, preparing for his agonizing end. All he felt afterwards was the blade of the axe sinking into his shoulder and tearing through his shoulder blade before reaching his-

Tony woke up abruptly. He panted and fingered his chest in panic. The Arc Reactor was intact along with his shoulder. Looking up at the ceiling, the playboy noticed there were no cracks on it. Stark sighed in relief and buried his head in his hands. "JARVIS," he called out weakly.

"Yes sir? What's wrong?"

"Where are the Jokers?"

A glass wall immediately changed its blank screen to camera of the lounge of the mansion. In there, Heart and Diamond were sitting back to back on one couch as they silently watched Club play a rather endearing song on a xylophone. Spade was no where in sight, but Tony heard his quiet_"Keseseses~" _from the corner of the room. The inventor stared at the jester that was kneeling down in front of the coffee table playing, his brown eyes filled with weariness and a still lingering fearfulness.

Standing up from his chair, Tony dragged himself into the elevator before ramming his finger on the 'First Floor' button. He tilted his head back and sighed in content as the metallic box began to move upward.

~~~~~In the Lounge~~~~~

Spain tapped at the wooden bars of the xylophone with the mallets at the tune of the song he hummed. He rocked back and forth as the music echoed through out the room.

On the couch, France and England yawned together and sleepily said in synch, "Four down, two to go."

On his spot on one of the bean bags that was closer to the corner, Prussia laughed slowly before he drifted off into the realm of sleep, soon followed by the English jester and the French one.

Finishing the song, Spain listened to the quiet breathing of his friends before he stood up, set down the mallets next to their instrument, and walked over to the other bean bag. As he plopped down on the cushiony object, he couldn't help but giggle at the torment he had caused Stark less than five minutes ago. Stretching and sighing through his nose, the Spaniard soon fell asleep as well.

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**Hello dear people! Happy New Years to began with! Sorry for not updating sooner but recently I've been watching Blue Exorcist ALOT and it seems that it has sucked me in! (not that I'm complaining!) And if you're wondering what song Spain was playing its called 'Ao no Exorcist OST - 12 AOE Suite Fourth Movement : AI'. It's sooooo pretty! I fell asleep the first time I heard it so that's why I wrote the jesters falling asleep at the end. Anyway, enough of my nonsense! See you guys next time! *waves***

**PS: Sorry if it's rather short heheh...**


	9. Chapter 9: The Eye of the Hawk

**Dear God! I'm sooooo sorry for not uploading all this damned past week! Cursed school started this last Monday and with all the reviewing and studying for tests that will start this week I had no time! Furthermore, I've been brain dead for ideas these whole seven days. Anyway enough ranting. **

**WARNING: Chapter WILL contain one grotesque description. NOT for the weak people who can't hold in the contents of their stomachs. (You can skip it f you want to.)**

**P.S.: Thank you all for your favorites, reviews, and follows! They make me so happy~**

**P.S.S.: Review answers at the bottom~**

**Disclaimer: Me no own this awesomeness!**

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All was silent in the Avengers Mansion. No chatting, no fighting, no footsteps, no nothing. The only sound was that of the still raging storm outside.

It stayed like that until Clint was the one to break the suffocating silence."Guys, seriously, are we gonna stay here all day?" Whined the archer from his spot on the couch. Even if he had been the one to propose the idea he hadn't expected for the other three remaining members of the group to actually listen.

Glaring at the other agent, Natasha growled, "Unless you want to end up like Thor than yes." She had not meant to sound so cold, but it had to be done or else another person on the team would get hurt.

Whining like a little kid and throwing his head back, Clint stared upside down at the floor to ceiling window. The rain from outside patted at the strong glass. Some of the droplets that clung to the window slid down it like tears, sometimes merging with other watery bubbles and forming even bigger ones.

"Ms. Romanoff? Mr. Rogers?" Called a blond man in a suit from the doorway.

The four startled Avengers looked at his direction. Electric blue eyes stared at three shocked faces and one unimpressed. "Yes, JARVIS?" Asked Natasha, earning the looks of three very confused men. Just as blond was about to reply, Clint pointed at him and squeaked, "That's JARVIS? I didn't know he was actually human!"

Rolling her eyes at the other S.H.I.E.L.D agent, the Russian droned out, "He's_ not_ human. Stark has been working on an android for JARVIS since the incident with Hammer."*

As the spy's words sunk into the other three men's head, the AI's British accented voice continued, "Sir would like to see both of you in his room." At their silence, he added, "He said it was urgent." The blond then fixed the wireless black headset's microphone he wore so that it wasn't so close to his mouth.

Natasha and Steve nodded at the android. Standing up from her place on the couch, the redhead turned to a quiet Bruce and a still gawking Clint. "Stay here, alright?" She ordered them like an owner does to an unruly puppy.

Both brunettes agreed with a quiet 'Yes'.

Not one of the Avengers noticed their shadows grinning wickedly at each other. Nor did they see them sink through the floor like wrecked ships on a raging ocean.

~~~~~Ten Minutes Later~~~~~~

Clint sat upside down on the couch, booted feet kicking the back part of the loveseat. Whistling a little tune, the archer turned his reversed vision at the meditating scientist sitting across from him.

"Hey Bruce," Called out the bored agent.

"Yes Clint?" Answered the unmoving brunette. He breathed in and out in a slow and calmed manner, concentrating on letting out the stress from early that day out of his system.

"I'm going to go the shooting range," stated Clint in a confident voice with a grin suddenly plastered on his face. The archer swiftly swung his legs over the back of the couch and flipped over, landing on his booted feet with a soft _thud._

"Natasha said not to leave the room, Clint," warned the still zen Bruce. His comment went ignored since by then, Barton was already out the doorway and on the hall. Sighing in slight annoyance through his nose, the scientist went back to his calming meditation.

~~~~~Shooting Range~~~~~

Plucking a bow and a quiver from the wide wall displaying several weapons that would make the most hardened soldiers cry in joy, Clint trotted over to a shooting stall. He set down the deadly instruments on the small shelf before pressing the red button next to him. As the machine whirled to life and dragged over a pair of clips, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent grabbed a paper shooting target and hooked it on the clips once they had arrived. Punching the button once more, the machine controlling the lines jerked the shooting back as far as the lines would let it go.

Pulling the strap of the quiver over his head and dragging an arrow from within it, Clint set the sharp object on the nocking point and pulled back the string. Breathing out slowly, he released the arrow. The thin object sliced through the air like a bullet through a mound of jelly before impaling itself on the very center of the tiny bullseye circle.

Chuckling to himself, Clint pulled out another arrow, aligned it, and released it. This continued for a little while until he only had three arrows left in the quiver.

He was about to press the button when he heard a sudden _'BANG'_ come from hall outside. Killer instincts kicking in, Barton crouched low and aimed his bow at the door. He quietly crawled over to the entrance of the shooting range and peeked out the door window once he was there. Not seeing anything suspicious, he opened the door slowly and jumped out into the hall, aiming his bow left and right. Only to find no one there.

Lowering the weapon slightly, Clint tilted his head in confusion and shrugged. But when he turned back to the shooting range door, he almost screamed in horror at the sight before him. Standing- or rather _hanging _from a chain around their neck- there was a bloody Natasha. There was no inch on her body that wasn't covered in blood. One of her arms was completely missing, appearing to have been ripped off its socket savagely while her other arm was a stump from the elbow up. Remains of muscle, veins, and a small part of fractured bone hung out of the gaping stump. But the worst part was her torso. It looked like someone had plunged in a butcher knife in it before dragging the sharp metal over the flesh. Her stomach along with the large and small intestines hung out of the rough incision.

Barton stared with horror etched on his face at his fellow agent, but before he could do anything, crazed laughter echoed throughout the corridor. Swiveling around to face the sound, Clint shrieked when he saw a huge double headed creature. The creature- or creatures...he didn't know any more- looked like a rag doll with all the stitches that covered its body. Opening their mouths to reveal bloody fangs and long black tongues, both heads roared and charged for the archer.

Wasting no time, Clint turned to the other direction and ran like hell. The demon behind him roared again and gained speed just as Clint rounded a corner. Opening the first door he saw, the agent flung himself into the dark room. He waited anxiously with baited breath until the roars and footsteps of the creature were nothing but a distant sound before he exhaled. Placing the arrow that he held tightly back in the quiver, Barton lowered hs bow and patted the wall for the light switch. Finding it, he flicked it on. And he soon regretted his decision.

Starring at him hungrily, hundreds of yellow eyed zombies surrounded the archer from all sides. "SHIT!" Cursed Clint as the reanimated corpses shrieked before sprinting at him. In the blink of an eye, he was out the door and barricading it with a small but strong table that was on the hall. The zombies pounded on the poor door until it grew weak and a grey hand plowed through the wood, sending splinters and big chunks everywhere. Barton jumped back just in time as the hand swiped at him. Staring with horror at the door that was being mauled by the living dead, tha agent took of once more.

He didn't stop running until he practically crashed into a hard surface. From his place on the ground, Clint looked up nervously at the back of a painfully familiar looking figure. "L-Loki?" Stuttered the poor agent.

Turning his head a fraction, Loki smiled cruelly and vanished into thin air with a snap of fingers. But the snap wasn't for disappearing, oh no, it was for something much, MUCH, worse. And that worse came in the shape of an enormous axe swinging down from the ceiling to the direction of the man on the ground.

All courage lost, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent screamed pressed himself flat on the ground, and not a second too late since the axe graced the tip of his nose. When the weapon's momentum took it all the way up to the ceiling again, Clint made a run for it.

He ran through halls, rounded whatever corner he came across, entered whatever room to look for a bigger weapon, but not once did he notice the shadows that were following close behind, laughing at his terror and stupidity.

Soon enough, the terrified archer came to an aburt stop at a dead end. Insane giggles made him turn around.

Standing there with wide eyes filled with sadistic mirth and ear to ear smiles were the Jokers.

"Y-YOU?! YOU GUYS ARE BEHIND THIS?!" Screamed Clint with an enraged face, fear suddenly gone. He aimed his bow at the quad and retrieved an arrow from the quiver. He placed the sharp object on the nocking point and pulled back the string, not caring if he was aiming the deadly thing at the new recruits.

Tsking, Spade jerked his hand to the side and the weapons turned into snakes. Clint yelped as the snakes tried to bite his hand before he threw them at the floor. The serpents hissed at him and slithered away into the dark.

"Now, now, no need to be _so _hostile, Hawkeye," chided Diamond playfully. When the archer was about to retort, the jester snapped his fingers and the other man instantly fell silent. "Let me finish," he growled out in a suddenly angry tone. Pulling out a knife from seemingly out of no where, the blond jester stalked forward. "Dear little hawk, riddle me this and you're free to go: A family lived in a round house. There was a father, a chef, a grandma, a grandpa, and three kids. They each heard the children scream. The father and chef said they were in the kitchen using sharp knives. The grandpa said he was reading the newspaper and finally, the grandma said she was in the corner knitting. Now here is the question, who killed the children?"

And with a grin he added, "You only have five seconds to answer, so be fast."

Clint thought hard, but with his mind suddenly clouded by panic it was even harder to think straight. In front of him, Diamond toyed around with the sharp knife, making a little tick-tock sound to signify the time passing by. It clicked. But when he was about to say the answer, the British jester squealed, "Oops! Times up for the little hawk!"

Barton didn't even have time to scream as Diamond pounced on him and impaled the knife into his neck.

Clint Barton awoke with a start on the cold floor of the shooting range. He panted and swiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand. "Just a dream," he laughed weakly. Standing up and walking to the door, the traumatized archer kept repeating 'A dream.' as if it were a mantra.

Poor man never saw the shadows of the room smile cruelly at him.

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**Hello dears! Hope it isn't too noticable that I've been watching way too much "The Walking Dead" lately with the description of Natasha. Anyway, here is a little challenge for you guys.**

**If any of you can guess the riddle and be the first one to answer it in the reviews, you will get to ask for a wish from your loving author. It could be to either make a certain character appear, or to make something in specific happen, ANYTHING YOU WANT! :D**

**Now answers:**

**AnimeGirl 144: Hulk is neeeeeext! Heheheheh...the chaossss**

**Zantetsuken Reverse: Maybe...maybe not...BWAHAHAHA **

**The Almighty Pyro: Of course, it's always them in the end!**

** MyraBrown: It'll all be explained later on in the chapters that include _The Facility _and** _Him_.

**P.S.: Even though I heard some stuff about the 2P nations, can you guys help me out a bit on them? I was never able to find any info on those guys and if you guys told me more about them than I would be extremely happy! You don't have to if you don't want too though, I'm just saying I could really use the help.**

**Anyway...see you next time bros! *Brofist***


	10. Chapter 10: The Two Faced Man

**WOOHOO!** **CHAPTER 10 IS HERE! I never thought I would be able to get this far into the story! And it's all thanks to YOU guys out there! Excuse my giddiness but I just soooo glad! Sorry I didn't update last week but as I said, stupid tests got in the way along with the death of one of my dad's friends and *sigh* pretty hectic week. ANYWAY thank you once more for all your support. OH! Before I forget! The answer to the riddle was: THE GRANDMA! And the first person to answer was *drumroll*...twitch'pjofan95! Kudos to you! Worry not my readers, for all of you who answered correctly can still request or ask anything you want! Just leave it the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it!**

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Trotting down the hall merrily and humming a little tune, England entered his room and made a bee-line for his bed. Plopping down on the wine red silky covers, the black and white jester slid his knife out from its place inside his checkered sleeve. He raised it over his head and twisted the sharp blade around; staring at a tiny patch of light as it danced on the surface of the stainless steel.

_"Why didn't you do it?" _Came a sudden voice from inside his head.

Unblinking and strangely relaxed, England replied out loud, "'Cause I did not find the need to, Igiko."

From inside his head, Igiko snorted, _"Then that's no fun, lad!"_

The Briton lowered the hand that held the knife to rest next to him. Sitting up and looking over to the small mirror he kept on his nightstand, he grinned at his reflection a little bit too feral and muttered like an insane killer, "The fun has just begun, my friend."

* * *

Bruce sat in the sanctity of the thankfully empty and quite living room. Turning a page of the book that he held in his hands, the brunette sighed through his nose and absorbed the words of the book he had found underneath a couch. Said book was about a boy who lived in an apocalyptic world with his two little sisters as they struggle to survive. Upon reaching a new chapter, Banner dog-eared the page and set down the novel next to him. He ran a hand down his face before rubbing his temples.

Clint had been gone for more than an hour and it seemed he wasn't returning anytime soon. He debated whether he should go and look for the archer or stay in this place like Natasha had ordered him. Thinking both throughly, he chose the former option.

Bruce stood up from the couch and walked slowly over to the doorway, hesitating only when it came to crossing said arch. Once he was out in the hall, Banner strode through the maze of corridors that made the Avengers Mansion with ease. Soon enough, he reached the shooting range; upon opening the door, he was surprised to find the place empty.

"Barton?" Bruce called out wearily. His voice echoed eerily throughout the vacant room. Shrugging to himself, the scientist stepped back and gently pulled the door close. Banner scratched the back of his head and sighed loudly. He was about to head back to the living room when he heard small but loud scratching sounds at the end of the hall.

The man stopped on his tracks and curiously looked behind him. Tilting his head in bewilderment, Bruce cautiously approached the on-going noises that seemed to emit from behind a door that suddenly looked ominous.

He slowly reached out with a trembling hand and grasped the doorknob before throwing the door open. He almost screeched out in horror when a limp and bloody body dropped to the floor below. The corpse splattered blood everywhere; on the walls, on the floor surrounding it, and on Bruce's clothing.

Shaking in terror, the brunette felt a familiar anger bubble up in him, and he desperately tried to push it down by taking in deep gulps of air. Once he was sure he wasn't going to Hulk out, Bruce hesitantly trudged closer to the corpse and stared blankly at the cadaver when he saw its face.

_Clint..._

He snapped out of his trance like state and jumped back when the dead archer's arm suddenly jerked violently. Bruce wasn't that fast on his feet when his mind was hazed with panic, so when the dead Clint suddenly screeched like a banshee and lunged for Banner with a crazed look on his shredded face, the latter stumbled back and tripped on his own feet.

Screeching again, Clint reached up with his bloody and torn hand towards a struggling Bruce's face in an attempt to scratch his eyes out. Using as much strength as he could in his panicked state, the living brunette placed a well aimed kick on the shredded face of the screaming corpse; to his relief, the animated cadaver let go of his legs when the kick snapped its head back 180 degrees.

Banner scrambled up and dashed down the hall, not caring where he was headed as long as it was away from that _thing _that couldn't possibly be his friend. He only sparred a small glance back over his shoulder and he screeched in terror at what he saw. He saw the cadaver _crawling_ at an inhumane speed behind him with its head still twisted back. The whole thing looked like it had just been plucked out of a fictional horror movie and thrown into reality.

Making a sharp turn right, Bruce quickly pressed himself against a wall and watched with wide eyes as the corpse sped by, still screeching its twisted head off like a banshee.

Panting heavily, the shaking brunette stumbled out of his hiding spot and made a run for safety once more.

The terrified man never noticed the four blobs of black matter racing over head on the ceiling in the same direction as him.

"JARVIS? What's going on?" Called out a still running and breathless Bruce.

Silence...

"JARVIS?!"

This time, he got an answer, but not the one he was expecting.

"Mr. Banner!" Yelled a familiar British voice from behind the aforementioned man. Bruce skidded to a halt and turned to the voice, panting all the while. He was surprised at who he saw running towards him.

Diamond slowed down to a jog as he reduced the distance to the brunette. Breathing fast once he stood in front of the other man, the blond whispered, "What's going on?"

"I-I don't know, Diamond," stuttered Bruce.

A familiar screech silenced the pair. Not wasting any time, the British jester snatched the scientist's wrist while silently hissing, "Come on! We can't stay here!" The Joker ignored Bruce's strangled complaints and bolted the hall.

The duo ran through the maze of halls, twisting in all directions in order to lose the screaming corpse; only when the cries were far enough did they slow down to a stop. Both men panted heavily and leaned against opposite walls.

Sucking in a deep breath, Bruce choked out, "Not to be rude, but where the heck are we going?" At that moment, a small_ 'ding' _reached the brunette's ears. Forcing a small grin despite his pants, Diamond pointed at the elevator down the hall, "Down to Mr. Stark's lab, Dr. Banner."

"Don't worry, I know the code," he interjected quickly when Bruce was about to say that it was impossible to go there without the security number.

Too weary to care, the scientist moved towards the metal box, not noticing the way forest green eyes narrowed, accompanying a cruel smirk that stretched upon the blond Joker's face. Said jester swiftly fell into step behind the brunette.

They entered the elevator and Diamond pressed the button that would take them down to the billionaire's lab. And to Bruce's amazement, the Briton _did _know the security code. With its transparent screen flashing green, the doors slid shut and the metal box started its descent.

The whole ride was filled with tense and awkward silence. Bruce almost sighed it relief when the elevator dinged again and pulled back its metal panels, revealing a messy yet familiar lab.

However, that relief turned to horror once the scientist and jester rounded the main workbench. There, sprawled out on the floor like a useless rag doll, laid the only person who didn't seem to be afraid of him.

_Tony..._

Dropping to his knees, Banner gawked at the cold, mutilated body. From behind, Diamond slowly retreated back into the shadows with a sadistic smirk on his face, and once there, he silently snapped his fingers. Soon enough, three silhouettes appeared beside him.

"Shall we begin?" Whispered Club in a hushed tone.

_"Oui," _came Heart's reply.

Like tigers stalking their prey, both jesters clung to the darkness as they bolted opposite ways. The other two Jokers simply started chanting quietly with closed eyes and bowed heads.

Heart and Club met once more on the other side of the lab, where both were crouched down behind a messy table. The tricksters strained their ear in order to hear the silent murmuring coming from their other two comrades across the room. And when they fell silent, the Frenchman and Spaniard took it as their cue to slam the palms of their gloved hands on the floor.

Their hands emitted a bright gold light as they came in contact with the concrete below. Shadows from the corners of the room suddenly extended forward like snakes. They coiled around Bruce's unmoving ankles and wrists, anchoring him in place. The other tendrils slid over the glass wall and elevator, forming a sort of a thick black net that impeded either entrance to be opened from the inside. Soon enough, the Jokers and the frozen Bruce Banner were locked in.

After a short silence, Heart and Club stood up and rounded the workbench, coming to a stop before Bruce. The other two did the same thing.

Suddenly, Banner started to twitch violently and growl in a low tone. They watched as his skin rapidly took a sickly looking shade of green and how he seemed to inflate with thick muscles. His shirt stretched to its limits around his shoulders and back before it started to rip in places. With an angry and loud roar, the Hulk fought against the tendrils as he stood up and raised his big arms over his head.

The quad of jesters watched the unfolding scene with bored eyes. Spade even brought up his hand and yawned into it. That was sufficient enough to catch the Hulk's attention.

With another roar, the green giant snapped the black tendrils coiled around him before bringing his huge fist down on the smaller group of four. The Jokers scattered just in time as the thick knuckles cracked and broke the floor.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Yelled Spade as he did a flip in mid air, narrowly avoiding a piece of floor that Hulk had flung in his direction. He landed on a workbench in a crouched position. The albino started laughing as he watched Club thrust his flaming hand out at the raging giant. A long stream of flames shot out of the gloved palm, tearing through the air like a bullet before crashing onto a muscled green back.

Hulk roared in anger once more and turned to the brown haired jester. However, when he turned, another attack crashed against him. Attack after attack came at him from the four Jokers, who were literally jumping on the walls; poor Hulk made several attempts in whipping around and trying to hit his previous offender only to have another one smack against him.

Having had enough, Hulk yelled loudly and smashed his fist onto the floor. The shock wave caught the jesters by surprise and sent them flying back against the far wall.

Before either jester could get up, Hulk came ramming over like a Spanish bull chasing the waving red flag. His big meaty hands dove down and scooped up two Jokers in each palm. The quad unintentionally let out simultaneous shrieks of surprise and pain as the fingers curled around them a bit too tight.

Everything went downhill from there.

Hulk whirled around and flung Heart and Spade across the lab. The duo tried to evaporate in mid air, but their speed was too great that they didn't even have time to brace themselves as their backs cracked against the black tendrils that still covered the glass wall. They limply slid down against the black matter.

Huffing at the two unmoving jesters, Hulk turned his head back to the other two who were still in his hand and were currently squirming in a futile attempt to get free. He jerked them up suddenly and roared in their faces. Diamond and Club had to close there eyes tightly as some of the giant's saliva flew by their faces or came in contact with them.

Still roaring, the Hulk suddenly brought down his hand and slammed the two Jokers on the ground with so much force that the concrete once again cracked. Diamond had the air knocked out of him by the impact and Club shrieked as sharp pain shot up his side. Both jesters looked up as they saw a terrifying expression on the Hulk's face. His eyes were ablaze with fury, his green features contorted in a fearsome snarl, and his big thick hands were curled into fists above his head.

With another short roar, he brought down his fists on the two curled figures. Squeezing their eyes shut, the two Jokers waited for their oncoming end.

It never came.

Instead, they heard a small_ 'poof' _and Hulk's aggravated yell. Diamond hesitantly opened one eye and almost gasped at what, or rather _who_, he saw.

Standing over them and holding the Hulk's heavy fists in his hands as if they weighed next to nothing was America. He flashed them a big toothy grin before turning back to Hulk. With one of his boisterous laughs, he happily swung the green giant over his shoulder in the same manner someone tosses a used and crumpled paper. The energetic blond whipped around to face the stunned jesters once more.

"Dudes! I've been looking for you guys everywhere!" America exclaimed loudly, completely ignoring the stunned looks on both Jokers' faces and the angry snorts of the Hulk as he was halfway through the wall.

"H-How? We thought you had died back in the fusion room!" Cried out England.

_"He did die! I saw him! How in all blazes did he survive that?!" _Igiko screamed in shock inside the Briton's head.

"Well, I didn't! Ain't that awesome?" Continued the American in a cheerful tone. Inside his head, too, Ameriko scoffed and continued to clean his bloody and nailed bat.

Roaring and crashing from the wall where the Hulk was drowned Spain's questions. The trio looked over briefly in the Hulk's direction before turning to look at one another. "We have to get out," mumbled England weakly as he stumbled up, followed closely by a limping Spain. America nodded and glanced over his shoulder at the other unmoving half of the Jokers.

"You guys go. I'll carry those two over there," ordered America. Without waiting for a response, he vanished and reappeared in between the unconscious duo across the lab. The blond grabbed Prussia's arm and swung him over his shoulder before doing the same thing with France, who had a little bit of blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. Using his abnormal strength to his advantage, the American stood up without a problem.

_"You better get out of here, or else we'll be nothing more than a damn pile of dust on the floor when that guy's through with us," _warned Ameriko nonchalantly.

With a smirk that was a bit too crazy, America chuckled and evaporated into thin air as Hulk came barreling over.

Hulk's enraged roar echoed through out the Avengers Mansion, but not one soul heard it.

* * *

**Ohh, stuff didn't go as planned, did it? Anyway, YOU ASKED FOR HIM, THERE HE IS! Our dear hero, America! Before I forget, thank you all who helped me find out stuff about the 2p. I actually went to the Hetalia wikia and found some info there, along with a few other places. Hopefully the length once more makes up for my lack of update, heheh. On further notice, be sure to leave your request if you were one of the reviewers who answered the riddle correctly! Until next time! **


	11. Chapter 11: The Reunion

**WAAAHH! I'M SOOO SORRY FOR MY LACK OF UPDATE! But I accidentally fractured/broke my right hand and wrist, which prevented me from being able to do anything. It was sooo damn hard at school since some of my teachers thought I was lying just so that I didn't have to do anything and they kept on making me write LOOONG notes in my notebooks. *sniff* I couldn't even hold the pencil properly; it always fell off my hand! Anyway, now after a month my wrist seems to be fine except it still hurts from time to time when I strain it too much. So...yeah...I'm back! Now, ONWARD!**

**P.S.: All of the reviews you guys left made me sooo happy during those painful weeks! Thank YOU!**

**NOTE: If you want to know how America's outfit looks like, it's like Spain's but inversed. Meaning the checkered pattern is on the left instead of on the right.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own it.**

* * *

After their rather painful encounter with the Hulk, the four battered jesters and their energetic companion retreated back to the empty ball room.

"Duuudes, this place gives me the creeps," whined America to the older nations as he lowered France and Prussia to the ground. However, neither Joker stirred at the movement. They just continued to let themselves be manipulated as if they were a pair of broken rag dolls.

England and Spain simply stared at him; they were still shocked at the reappearance of their presumed dead friend, not to mention the excruciating pain they still felt from the beat down the Hulk so graciously gave them. Wincing from the sharp stab that ran up his side, the brunette sat up straighter from his place on the wall. "America," he slowly panted, "how did you find us?"

Whirling around the face the two conscious Jokers, the excited blond beamed, "Latvia gave me this!" At the same time, he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a razor thin device that the looked no bigger than the palm of anyone's hand. He tossed it over to England, who caught it in mid-air before lowering it so that the slumped jesters could both see it.

On the screen and blinking were four bright red dots. They were all clustered together, though, making them look like a single huge ball instead of four tiny ones. Suddenly, the image of the crimson orb minimised until is nothing more but a fading white line in the middle of the device. What really startled the injured nations was the abrupt appearance of the short blond country known as Latvia.

With an ever present concerned face, the short nation squeaked, "America? Are you there?"

At the mention of his name, the aforementioned nation grinned like the happy fool he was and practically swiped the tiny device from England's weak grasp. "Dude, this thing does work! I found 'em!" He chirped at the screen.

England and Spain winced at the loud sound of America's voice. While the taller blond chatted away with the shorter nation, the checkered jester threw his head back, and it soon came in contact with the wall, producing a dull _'thunk'. "Can I come out for a bit, pretty please lad? I'll be good!...maybe," _squeaked a certain pink haired individual inside the Briton's head.

'No, Oliver.' Replied the tired host.

_'But why? And my name is NOT Oliver! It's Arthur!'_

'Sure, sure. And I'm the lost princess of the underworld.'

_'...you are?'_

'I was being sarcastic you bloody git.'

_'Ohhh...so you're not a princess then? Now that's a BIIIIG disappointment.'_

England breathed in slowly and huffed the air out through his nose in annoyance. 'Alright, alright! If I let you out will you shut up?' He growled at the voice in his head.

Inside said man's skull, Oliver perked up and cried happily,_ 'Oh yes! Yes, I certainly will, lad!'_

'Good,' was all England was able to say back before his vision started to go black at the edges and a wave of nausea washed over him. Then, the darkness consumed everything within sight as his limp body slumped forward.

* * *

Spain noticed through tired eyes the sudden movement of his blond companion. Shutting out the pain on his side as the bones there mended back to their original state, the brunette nudged the Englishman with his hand. "England? What's wrong?" He croaked.

And if a flip had just been switched, the usually bottle green eyes snapped open to reveal cerulean blue eyes that held pink spirals in them. The startled Spaniard jumped back out of reflex and unintentionally cried out when the still broken bones in him shifted in place.

A few feet away, America stopped pacing and paused in mid-sentence when he heard the shriek. "I'll call you back later, Latvia," he quickly murmured at the thin contraption held. On the screen, the serious blond nodded once and broke transmission. Inside the American's head, Timothy boredly took off his sunglasses and looked up as well.

Pocketing the device, the bi-colored nation was about to say something when 'England' suddenly jerked his head up to stare at him. With a tilt of his head, the Briton giggled, "My my! It certainly is a pleasure to finally be able to be face to face with you, love!"

A look of confusion crossed America's face before recognition finally crept in. "Ahhh...you must be Oliver right?"

Ignoring the mention of the name he hated so much, Oliver grinned widely and nodded in glee. However, that look quickly faded as a more bewildered one took its place. "America? I have one question for you lad." He hesitantly said.

Perking up and snapping out of his serious demeanour, the young country happily replied, "What is it, dude?"

Fiddling with the hem of his gloves, Oliver looked up at the other's blue eyes. Normal ocean blue met abnormal cerulean with pink. "How did you survive _that?_ Supposedly that procedure killed everyone who went through it, and if it didn't then it messed up anyone who survived. And I clearly saw you go down in that chamber when all hell broke loose in the Facility. So...how _did_ you come out alive?"

With a big and toothy grin on his face, America threw his head back a laughed loudly. Once again, a quiet Spain winced from his unmoving spot on the ground. When the taller blond was able to finally rein in his laugh, with a only a few stray snigger bursting forth, he wiped a fake tear from his eye and panted out a reply, "Well, when shit it the fan, I just _pretended_ to go down before I broke the glass and ran out of there. After that...I don't remember where exactly I ended up."

Nodding at the answer, Oliver curiously threw another question, "Who else got out?"

To this one, America sighed somberly with all the happiness in his face suddenly gone, "I really don't know who did and who didn't other than Latvia and you guys. But what I do know is that not many of us were able to get out of that place."

Silence...

"Ah," was all Oliver was able to squeak out before groans filled the room. The three conscious jesters looked over at the two who still laid on the floor, yet this time one of them was slowly moving. Another groan came from France before he weakly pushed himself up. America quickly jogged over. The younger nation took ahold of the older's striped sleeve and slowly helped him sit up. The Briton soon followed, completely ignoring his host's body as it screamed at him for moving too fast.

"Hey France. You okay?" Asked the self-appointed hero.

Dull purple orbs opened up half-way on the Frenchman's face. With a tired scowl, 'France' sarcastically growled, "Just peachy, boy. It totally didn't hurt when I got thrown to the fucking wall by a god damned green giant on steroids."

"Huh?"

"...nothing, kid. Just get me u-GAH!"

Oliver tackled 'France' in mid-sentence while happily squealing, "Jean! You're alive!"

"What?! Oh, wait! You're France's...person thingy, right?" America said as he finally connected the dots. A groan and a nod were the only answers he got from the pained and suffocating jester.

~~~~~Some Time Later~~~~~

The now awake and healed Jokers along with the self-proclaimed hero were currently lounging in Spain's room. From his spot on the bed with red sheets, Jean puffed a cloud of smoke out and boredly said, "What exactly do we do now?"

Oliver instantly perked up, "We could go and bake cupcakes!"

"NO!" Cried the other four in unison. The happy Briton deflated.

* * *

Some where not too far away, a certain brunette was crawling in the air ducts. The confined spaces and cool surfaces were a comforting presence to the archer's troubled mind, helping him forget that horrible and strange_ nightmare _he had had not too long ago in the shooting range.

Bolting down one familiar passage on light and mute feet, the agent came across a grille that was atop the living room. Peking in through the horizontal bars, Clint noticed that Banner had left the room at one point during the time he himself was gone. After a few more seconds of looking around, the brunette continued on his way.

He didn't stop until he was able to hear the echo of three familiar voices. As soon as he reached the grille, he quietly removed it and set it aside. He crawled closer to the bright patch of light before slipping through it. Flipping in mid-air, Clint landed on the carpeted floor of the bedroom with a silent 'thud'. The archer crouched down behind a black leather couch which was being occupied by the billionaire Tony Stark and the American icon Steve Rogers. Across from them sat Natasha, who had her eyes pinched close with her fingers rubbing at her temples furiously in an attempt to ward off an incoming headache.

"We're getting no where with this," she gritted out through clenched teeth. Tony scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well then if Mister Stripes here wasn't so damn pissy then we wouldn't be here arguing!"

Steve bristled and shot back, "Well, at least **I** do try to put a stop to this madness before someone else gets hurt, unlike you Stark."

"What's that supposed to mean, Rogers?!"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Tony!"

"Shut up!" Exploded Natasha out of the blue. Both males immediately shut up and turned to the only female in the room. "Arguing won't solve anything, вы идиоты!"

"...sorry," muttered Tony sheepishly. Steve nodded in agreement beside him. From behind the couch, Clint snorted and stood up, startling the trio with his sudden appearance.

"I think it's too late for that, guys," he chuckled when he plopped down next to Natasha on the couch. Glancing at the archer next to her with questioning eyes, the spy asked, "Why do you say that, Clint?"

The brunette lowered his head and stared at his lap as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Then he muttered something that sounded gibberish.

Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "What was that, bird-brain?"

Barton snorted and looked up, "I said: 'I had this fucked up nightmare in which I got killed."

"And? Anything else you want to share with the class?

"The recruits did it."

That was all that was needed to make Natasha explode. "I knew it! Those bastards are behind all of this! And why didn't you stay in the living room like I told you?"

"Okay okay. First, how do we know it's them? And secondly, I got bored, alright?!"

Silence hung in the air; the only sound was that of the still raging storm outside. "Where's Bruce?" Demanded Natasha.

Clint shrugged, "I don't know. I left him in the living room when I took off, but when I went back, he was gone."

"...what if they got him?" Whispered Steve, as if though his voice were any louder he would trigger some catastrophic omen. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Mr. Rogers?" Came the AI's monotonic reply from above.

"Do you know where Bruce is?"

A silent and tense moment passed JARVIS ran scans of the mansion. "He is currently in Mr. Stark's lab," he finally replied.

"My lab? What's he doing there?" Mused Tony out loud with a raised eyebrow.

"I do not know, Sir." Answered JARVIS in what sounded as exasperation.

"Well then," said Natasha as she uncrossed her legs and stood up, earning the looks of the three other occupants of the room, "let's go figure it out, shall we?"

* * *

When the four Avengers walked out of Tony's room, they were surprised when they noticed the calm and silent atmosphere. Silence was usually welcomed with open arms in this household, but today it was not. Glancing wearily down the corridor as if expecting something to pop out of the corner, Clint rubbed the back of his head and asked, "This really a smart idea?"

No body got to answer the question as they were cut off by happy singing coming from down the hall. The heroic quad ran down the hall to the source of the sound, not even thinking of what, or_ who_, laid ahead.

As they got closer to the source, a delicious and heavenly aroma floated lazily in the air, curling this way and that before reaching over to the Avengers and teasingly tickling their noses. "What's that smell?" Asked Tony, his mouth involuntarily watering.

"I don't know. I think it's coming from the kitchen," responded Steve as they all quickened their pace. When they reached the threshold, however, they were surprised to find someone in the room standing in front of the oven. What was the strangest part about the situation they were in was the fact that the familiar looking blond was singing a rather disturbing rhyme in a soft and melodic voice.

_"London Bridge is falling down,_  
_Falling down, falling down._  
_London Bridge is falling down,_  
_My fair lady._

_Build it up with wood and clay,_  
_Wood and clay, wood and clay,_  
_Build it up with wood and clay,_  
_My fair lady._

_Wood and clay will wash away,_  
_Wash away, wash away,_  
_Wood and clay will wash away,_  
_My fair lady._

_Build it up with bricks and mortar,_  
_Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,_  
_Build it up with bricks and mortar,_  
_My fair lady._

_Bricks and mortar will not stay,_  
_Will not stay, will not stay,_  
_Bricks and mortar will not stay,_  
_My fair lady._

_Build it up with iron and steel,_  
_Iron and steel, iron and steel,_  
_Build it up with iron and steel,_  
_My fair lady._

_Iron and steel will bend and bow,_  
_Bend and bow, bend and bow,_  
_Iron and steel will bend and bow,_  
_My fair lady._

_Build it up with silver and gold,_  
_Silver and gold, silver and gold,_  
_Build it up with silver and gold,_  
_My fair lady._

_Silver and gold will be stolen away,_  
_Stolen away, stolen away,_  
_Silver and gold will be stolen away,_  
_My fair lady._

_Set a man to watch all night,_  
_Watch all night, watch all night,_  
_Set a man to watch all night,_  
_My fair lady._

_Suppose the man should fall asleep,_  
_Fall asleep, fall asleep,_  
_Suppose the man should fall asleep?_  
_My fair lady._

_Give him a pipe to smoke all night,_  
_Smoke all night, smoke all night,_  
_Give him a pipe to smoke all night,_  
_My fair lady."_

Natasha recognized the little song instantly. Why wouldn't she? After all, it was well known through out the world, yet very few knew of its true meaning. Its horrific and dark meaning that would surely send chills down anyone's spine.

However, she didn't have a chance to think any more about it since at that moment, the blond turned and saw the quad standing on the kitchen's doorway.

Bright sky blue eyes with pink swirls for pupils widened in what looked like glee as they took in the sight before them. "Why hello there!" Chirped the owner of the eyes.

"D-Diamond? What are you doing here?" Stuttered Clint. Images of his 'nightmare' flashed before his eyes. He saw crazy green eyes as they lit up in twisted happiness as a knife buried itself deep in his throat, making him choke in his own warm blood.

"Why I'm baking, of course! Would you like a cupcake, love?" Chipped the jester, suddenly holding a tray of freshly baked and mouth watering cupcakes with a blue paper cup and pink icing on top.

Glancing at each other nervously, the Avengers shifted on their feet awkwardly before the archer finally stepped forward. "Umm...sure?" He said as he plucked a tiny pastry from the platter. "Would you like some too?" Cooed Diamond at the other three, abnormal blue eyes twinkling with barely hidden mirth. Startled, the trio slowly stepped forth and hesitantly grabbed a cupcake each.

"Go on," nudged the jester when the heroes simply stared at the food, not knowing what to do with it. The four once more looked at each other before raising the food up to their lips and taking a tentative bite out of it.

Pure and unabashed deliciousness flooded the inside of their mouths. The taste was so sweet that they had to keep themselves from cramming the whole thing into their mouths and gobbling down the rest. Diamond grinned wide as he saw the faces of his fellow 'comrades' twist in utter bliss.

Clint was the first to finish the cupcake. Curiously twisting his head, the archer asked, "What did you put in them?"

The Joker lowered the tray to rest on the black marble counter before he leaned on it. Resting his head on a raised hand that was propped up by the elbow on the counter, Diamond giggled merrily and replied, "Oh you know. Eggs, flour...poison."

The reaction was instantaneous. Four sets of eyes almost bugged out of their sockets, staring at the poker faced jester in horror and shock. Snickers broke out of the Joker's mouth before full blown laughter ringed through the kitchen. "I-I'm just joking! Hahahah!" He laughed.

Slowly, the Avengers relaxed a bit, still tensed at what the blond Briton had said. "Well,' said Natasha, "we should get going. Right, guys?" The other three nodded before they practically ran out of the room.

When they were far enough, Oliver pulled out a small vial filled half way with a toxic green colored substance. "Oh dears, if only you knew how lucky you were today," he sighed wistfully. On the tray, over half of the cupcakes smelled strange, but the smell could only be detected by people whose senses were really keen. After all, the perfect English gentleman hadn't been lying when he had said that one ingredient was poison._ 'Lucky indeed,'_ agreed England in his head. Staring at the other pastries, Oliver twirled one around from its place on his hand. "What now?" He thought out loud.

_'We wait and see. We wait and see.'_ Answered the fading voice of the host.

* * *

**AAAANNND DONE! HA! Anyway, I feel sad. :( The AN on the top was written a day ago, so this one's new, just in case someone's confused or something. *sigh* I went to the doctor with my mum today, and he said he was going to send me to a specialist cause something happened to the bones in my hand or something. I don't know anymore... BUT! I MUSTN'T BE SAD! I SHALL BE HAPPY FOR BEING ABLE TO WRITE AGAIN! Furthermore, the chapter's confusing, yes I know, and yes, the 2p's have different names here 'cause if it hadn't been for Sora Moto's review I would never of had noticed that my friends had logged in into my account and changed the names around to Ameriko and Igiko, SOOO thank you Sora Moto for pointing that out! :D And I didn't like how this chapter turned out. I rewrote it like five times and I'm still not pleased with it but whatever! ME NO CARE! ANYWAYS, BYE! *waves***


	12. Chapter 12: The New Face

**I AM SO DAMN HAPPY! *explodes* I will become an aunt this month! Not to mention that my birthday is coming up next week on the 13th! Grr...but I still hate myself for not updating in MONTHS. That's so not nice, Toy, so not nice. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! Onwards. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own this awesomeness! *sulks***

* * *

Oliver groaned loudly and allowed for his face to come in contact with the pillow under it. Oh he was so bored! He could be baking right about now, but after the other's had caught wind of what he had done, which was sneaking out and interacting with the four Avengers, they had confined him to England's room. And by confined he meant that the lock along with the knob had been magicked away and the windows had been barred shut with the same black tendrils.

_"I told you that wasn't a good idea, lad," chided the voice inside his head._

'Oh zip it, Iggy,' he mentally whined in response. With his face still buried on the pillow, he furrowed his thick eyebrows when he heard the laugh echo in his mind scape.

The jester lifted his head and crossed his arms on the pillow, pouting like a little three year old who had been denied his ice cream.

Momentarily forgetting his impatience, Oliver mumbled curiously, "I wonder what the others are doing..."

* * *

Outside in the lounge, Spain stretched out his legs from his spot on the beanbag and his arms over his head. He groaned in satisfaction when the limbs popped and the tension in them slipped away. The brunette returned to his original position and looked at the not-quite-sulking-but-almost-there Frenchman beside him on the other bag.

"What's wrong, Jean?" He asked with a head tilt. The blond sprawled back on the piece of furniture he was on and groaned lowly while pointing at the duo ahead, "Those two idiots over there won't shut up."

And indeed, the other blond and albino were talking so loud that it was a miracle that the other occupants of the mansion hadn't come over to investigate. Anyway, the reason to them being so loud was the fact that they had somehow gotten their hands on a computer and were currently playing some horror game that was called Amnesia.

"Dude, did you see that?!" Shrieked America. It still confused the Spaniard to no end that even though the blond was terrified of them, he still continued played the horror games and give himself a great scare.

"See what?" Hissed Prussia, hunched over the keyboard and staring intently at the screen. The character he was controlling was walking down a dungeon corridor with only his burning oil lamp casting a yellow glow on the darkness ahead. It seemed as though nothing was going to pop out, but just as that thought crossed his mind, the door up ahead began to destroy itself. It was the sack monster.

_"Scheisse!"_

"Shit!"

The jesters panicked, making the man turn tail and run away. He turned off the oil lamp and pulled open a random door before bolting in. However, the thing was faster. It clambered into the room and cornered them. _"Nein nein nein!"_ Yelped the spade of cards as he desperately looked for a way out. Meanwhile on the floor beside him, America was rolling on the ground and screaming incoherent gibberish with his gloved hands over his eyes.

A cry of frustration and surprise made him look up through the gaps between his fingers. "W-What?" He squeaked.

Prussia groaned in defeat from where he had face planted the coffee table. He pointed at the computer screen, which read_ 'You must continue.'_ in white, floaty and shifting letters. "It killed me," he mumbled sulkily.

Just as America was about to reply, Jean bolted up right from his slumped position and drawled quietly, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Asked Spain worriedly. His eyebrows furrowed as he stood and padded over to the doorway. Peeking out and looking at both ends of the hall, the jester saw nothing. He leaned back in and stared at Jean with confused green eyes.

"Footsteps, and they're coming this way," mumbled the Frenchman slowly. The blond stood up as well, albeit lazily, and dragged himself over to the brunette still standing on the doorway. "If I were you, I'd hide kid," he told America when he passed by the duo.

The newly arrived man nodded and clicked his fingers just as the aforementioned footsteps rounded the corner and came closer and closer. At that moment Prussia too snapped his fingers, making the computer fade away into thin air.

* * *

Tony's eyes narrowed when the group entered the hall where the lounge was. He sped up slightly so that he was at the head before reaching and coming to a halt on the threshold, where he came face to face with a grinning Club and a straight faced Heart. He almost, almost, recoiled at the shot of the person he so wanted to avoid.

"Why hello, Mr. Stark!" Chirped the Joker in black. The other man beside him nodded with a slight frown on his otherwise vacant face.

Before Stark had a chance to voice his answer, which most likely contained a few colourful words, he got cut off by Natasha who practically shoved him off to the side.

"Where have you been this whole afternoon?" She asked lowly, suspicion written all over her face and eyes. Club shrugged nonchalantly and responded lazily, "Here and there." However, he quickly changed his lazy demeanour when he heard the woman's growl. "Okay okay, we have been here all afternoon!"

This time, Clint snorted in disbelief and peeked over the brunette!s shoulder and into the room. He spotted Spade kneeling next to the coffee table, but what caught his attention was the fur ball laying beside the jester. Lifting a finger, he pointed at the thing and said over Natasha's voice, "I never knew that you guys had a cat."

Every set of eyes turned to the confused Joker, who tilted his head and looked down to the floor. His red eyes almost rolled out of their sockets when he spotted the white feline with a brownish mane and tail, blue eyes framed underneath with the outline of the blond's glasses, and the tell-tale cowlick sticking out of its head. The animal stared back up before meowing and pawing at his sleeve.

Spade snapped out of his sort of surprised trance before quickly lifting the cat and settling it on his arm, scratching it between the ears with his other hand. "Of course we have one," he grinned widely despite his inner nervousness. What was America doing?! He was supposed to have disappeared off to the Ball Room for Pete's sake! "We've been here all noon with him. Why do you ask?" He continued with his curious act, which in truth was ebbed with a bit of worry. Had they been found out?

"Just 'cause," responded the redhead curtly, turning on her heel and marching off. She didn't wait for any of the other three to catch up before continuing down the hall and over to the elevator. While the three men outside in the hall scrambled to catch up, Club and Heart turned to Spade and motioned for him to follow. The two then dissipated into thin air. The albino sighed and lowered the cat onto the floor before standing and looking down on it with crossed arms. "Really America?" e chided. "A cat?"

The nation-turned-animal meowed and hopped onto the low table._ 'Oh shut up, dude. I didn't mean for this to happen either,' _thought America sourly. It _really _wasn't fair. The other four could flawlessly disappear and appear wherever they wanted while he had to concentrate really hard in order to actually be able to at least do something. And look where that had gotten him! Now he was a damned cat!

Prussia rolled his eyes and lifted the feline up by his scruff before snapping his fingers. The animal's yowls went unheard as they both melted into the shadows.

* * *

"That cat was definitely not there when they came," was the first thing that came out of Tony's mouth when they entered the elevator. Beside him, Steve nodded thoughtfully and said with a shrug, "Maybe they just bought it or something?"

"Not likely." Natasha mumbled. She pressed the button labeled 'Basement' before stepping back and allowing for Stark to tap in his security code. Once the screen flashed green and minimised, an opressive and ominous air swallowed the inside of the metal box. The first one to break the silence was Clint with his whispered, "What do you think happened?" At the confused looks he received, the brunette continued, "Bruce doesn't usually go down to the lab, right Tony?"

The billionaire nodded slowly and rubbed his chin. "He only comes when I drag him over, and when he _does_ come by himself it's usually to force me out to eat and shower." However before anyone could say thin do anything else, the elevator jerked slightly and dinged.

The panels pulled back, strangely so they seemed to be stalling a bit, to reveal the normally messy lab with a few startling additions.

Gaping in shock at his beloved basement, Tony stumbled out and looked around in horror. "M...My lab! What happened to it?!" The place was an absolute mess!...not that it wasn't before, but still that didn't change the fact that the floor was cracked and broken with some of the torn pieces located at the other side of the room. Along the floor and walls there seemed to be black scorch marks, as if someone had lit up a fire and left it to burn a bit too close to the surrounding surfaces. Not to mention that on the far wall, a huge gaping hole was found at its centre, roughly the shape of a familiar green giant.

Walking out of the elevator, Clint whistled lowly and said with a chuckle, "This place looks like it's been dragged through hell and back." The other two remaining Avengers stepped cautiously out of the metal box and went to inspect a different part of the room when it became clear that there was nothing better to do other than just stand there looking like fools. The archer shrugged and walked over to a workbench, careful to not step on any loose floor tiles lest he fall and injure himself.

He moved trinkets and other gadgets around the surface before leaning over the side. He trailed his index finger along the edge before pulling it back and rubbing it against his thumb. He lifted the shorter digit off of the longer one and ran his gaze over the pad that was stained in a black sort of powder. Ash.

However, before he could ponder on the matter for longer, a call from across the lab caught his attention. "Hey guys!" Shouted Tony from the direction of the glass wall. "Come check this out!"

The inventor scratched at the black smudge on the reflective surface as the other approached, intent on removing it or at least a portion. He finally managed to tear off a part of the black mass and hold it up for the other's to see clearly in the light. "What do you guys think this is?" He curiously asked, shaking the strand of inky matter for extra emphasis.

"It looks like a leech," commented Steve in an instant. He slowly lifted up a hand and poked the thing, making it sway limply to the sides before coming to a halt. Natasha nodded curtly beside him. "It could be a simple stain from the oil you use or whatever," she stated boredly with a shrug. The redhead then frowned when Tony shook his head quickly. "No, it can't be a stain since A- I haven't used any sort of that stuff in months and B- If it were a simple stain, wouldn't it have disappeared the moment I scratched at it? Besides, it feel weird," mused the brunette out loud. A loud beep coming from the ceiling startled the quad that they got into fighting stances.

"Sir?" Came JARVIS smooth voice. The Avengers visibly relaxed when they saw, or rather heard, that it was only the AI calling.

"Yes, J?" Said Tony while standing up and wiping his hands on his pants. The computer didn't reply; instead, it pulled up several holographic screens around the group. The screens depicted almost every security camera in the mansion, yet they all seemed to be portraying the same image. What was the image? It was none other than a very tired looking and battered Bruce Banner stumbling through the mansion hallways.

Brown eyes widened as their owner flicked his wrist and the small screens merged into a single wide one. Tony and the others watched on as the shirtless doctor moved around aimlessly as if in a daze. "JARVIS where is he right now?"

"Dr. Banner seems to be headed towards the other side of the mansion, sir. My guess is that he is specifically moving to the location where Mr. Odinson was found. Why? I do not know, sir." responded JARVIS. After a few more seconds of walking around sluggishly, Banner disappeared from the frame as he ventured further into the old vowels of the house.

"Come on," said Natasha quickly, already halfway to the elevator with Clint hot on her heels. The other two were quick to follow. No body noticed the black stain on the glass wall melt through the surface or the snake-like arm stretching over to the piece of forgotten matter on the floor before wrapping itself around it and pulling back.

* * *

Bruce's movement was sluggish and jerkily, as if he were in a sort of daze or trance. His walk to the Ball Room on clumsy feet was filled with the occasional bump or slip, yet now he stood before the double doors that gave off an ominous feeling. The doctor heaved a long sigh and pulled open the slab of polished and styled wood.

The inside looked even more creepy than the outside. The only chandelier left at the other side of the room had dimmed to the point to where it only gave a few feeble rays of pale golden light. The dying rays made the glass scattered across the black and white floor shine and glitter in a false sense of beauty. All in all, it looked like a depressing and mysterious painting that had come to life.

From the shadows, a pair of oceanic blue and another of blood red eyes narrowed in distaste for the human on the doorway. The owner of the former eyes crouched low in the cloak of darkness and hissed to his companion, "What do we do, Spade?"

Sniffing, the albino mumbled with venom, "We can't get rid of him that's for sure. However," he smirked darkly at the other, "no one said we can't erase his memory." With that, he clicked his fingers and the doctor was pulled into the room before the doors slammed shut with an echoing _BANG. _Heart smiled slightly and stood up, dusting his black coat in the process before skipping ahead. He stopped just before the faded ring of yellow light and greeted quietly, "Dr. Banner, welcome. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here?"

Bruce blinked from under the chandelier and responded wearily, "What am I doing here? I...don't know." The brunette squinted at the dark in an attempt to try and figure out who it was, yet he couldn't see anything but a silhouette. He also didn't notice the jester creeping up behind him until the other's gloved hands rose and caught the sides of his head in a tight grip. "We'll make sure you don't remember anything else, _dummkopf, "_ hissed Spade. He didn't give the other man any time to process his words before his hands started to glow a piercing white colour.

The brunette's eyes widened with the feeling of something being tugged inside his head. However, everything soon went black when he slipped into a short sleep caused by the spell. The now knocked out doctor's body slumped to the floor upon being released, surrounded by the faint glow of the chandelier and the two Jokers looking down on it.

Looking up at his partner in crime, the albino smirked and laughed, "He won't remember the last three hours. That's good enough, right?" Heart smiled ruefully and nodded in agreement. The duo laughed loudly and slinked off, not wanting to be near when the prone man woke up a few seconds later.

* * *

Miles away in an old building located in the slums of the city, a tall raven haired man paced the wet floor surrounded by leaky pipes. The only sounds that echoed around the room were the steady drips of water falling into puddles and the footsteps of the black boots.

'When would be the perfect time to reveal my presence in this realm?' Mused the man to himself. He tapped the tip of the staff a he held against the floor in deep thought before stopping in front of a boarded up window.

Gazing out into the night with acidic green eyes, the figure smirked mischievously and laughed to himself, "I promised I would return, didn't I, Avengers?"

* * *

***gasp* Who's that at the end?! I think it's pretty obvious but whatever. Before I say anything else, I'm sorry if the chapter isn't good enough, but I have just returned from my sister's baby shower and I'm rather tired, but I don't want to post this tomorrow so here we are *grins*! I'm just so glad!...yet I'm sad cause I have played HetaOni and I cried like a baby...like no joke, I did. **

**AND thanks to all of you whom reviewed and are still with me after this whole time! It never fails to make me smile. Soooo leave a review if you want and good night/day! *waves***


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